Cross Family Jots

I've been working on developing Arcadia's family lately (in hopes that it will help to develop her character, which has proven to be elusive!), so here's some info and pics of her family so far!

Idothea

• She’s the only biological sibling of Arcadia, and the eldest of the Cross children.
• She has a new boyfriend every other week who she meets at the club in the Upperlevels she works at.  Idothea might work at Ajax's club, so she has to dye her hair white or wear a wig to blend in with his waitresses.
• She distances herself from her family because she thinks they “taint” her with their Midlevel origins. Mrs. Cross isn’t afraid to smacktalk her daughter for abandoning them, but it is understood by the family that she’s really just sad that Idothea would think of her own family as something undesirable.
• Idothea uses her wages to buy expensive clothes and maintain a comfortable lifestyle in an Upperlevel apartment.
• Idothea was influenced a lot by the Upperlevels propaganda of “wealth and entertainment” when she got a job up there, which changed her into the shallow person she became. Part of her hates herself for being like that and would love to go back and reconcile with her family, while the other part says that if she wants to be go anywhere other than down in her life, she needs to keep up this mask.
• Idothea wants nothing to do with the Rogues; likes her comfy lifestyle and accepts the system as it is. Bren might try to use her to get information on the Rogues and their movement.
• Very superficial, she spends a lot of money on makeup, clothes, and hair products. She is also very weight conscious and eats like a rabbit.
• She and Arcadia used to be wild children when they were younger, but while Idothea grew out of her wildness, Arcadia embraced it.

The Cross Siblings

• Cadmus, Hector, and Pax are “Purge Siblings” that Varian and Jocasta adopted.
• Cadmus is quiet and artistic and hates practical jokes of any kind. He has replacement internal organs from The Purge; he got hit with burning shrapnel to the torso. Cadmus works in Virtual Reality art and will listen to Classical music with earbuds while working on his pieces. He’ll only talk when he’s compelled to. He is very deadpan and rarely smiles and is good at intimidating people into leaving him alone.  Jocasta and Varian suspect that something traumatic happened to him as a child during The Purge to cause him to be so withdrawn and quiet. (Spoiler: Something DID happen)
• Hector is extroverted, loud, and very interested in composing his own club music. He is missing his right arm and left hand from The Purge that have since been replaced with prosthetics. Hector wasn’t really phased by the new hands as a kid—he just thought they were the coolest thing. Varian adjusted the controls on them so that Hector could only use as much pressure as a befitted a human to avoid accidents with siblings and other kids; he had to get replacements as he grew.
• Hector DJs for a smallish club in the Midlevels.
• Although it would seem like Hector would be the type to get tattoos, he has a phobia of needles (he has to get knocked out or use a VR visor whenever he needs adjustments on his prosthetics).
• Cadmus is the one covered in tattoos, though he rarely shows them off since he wears long sleeved, turtle-necked clothes all the time.
• Hector is very tall and thick. He plays Lightball (something like a cross between racquetball and basketball in an enclosed space with shifting gravity) and has been in a lot of amateur tournaments. He also does parkour, which he taught to Arcadia.
• Cadmus and Hector either get along well or don’t. They got into a lot of fights as kids that their parents had to break up; Hector would often be found wailing on Cadmus, who never developed any muscle.
• Hector and Arcadia get along well, while Cadmus and Idothea get along. There were a lot of Duo Sibling Team Ups growing up.
• Pax is the youngest. She’s about 14-16 around the time that the story proper takes place. She loves making friends and often gets underfoot in her Dad’s tech repair shop; she wants to go into tech repair work so Varian lets her hang around and do minor repairs while he supervises her, along with ringing up customers.
• Pax is “Daddy’s Little Girl” and is the most spoiled of the kids. She endeavors to hang out with her Dad whenever possible; she just wants to talk or be in his presence and looks up to him a lot—she’s a Cuddler.
• Pax is devastated when Varian is arrested and retreats in on herself. She shows signs of Depression which worries her Mom.
• Arcadia also hung out with Pax since they were the youngest of the five, and Pax saw Arcadia as something of a role model (which worked for better or worse since Arcadia went through some “rebellious phases” growing up).
• Pax, Hector, and Cadmus got bullied at school for being “Purge Orphans.” Hector proved that he could stick up for himself, while Arcadia and Idothea (Idothea was a lot more hotheaded as a child) helped to defend Cadmus and Pax.
• Although Cadmus and Hector fought a lot, they have that sibling relationship of “I’m his brother and I’m the ONLY person who can beat him up,” so if someone not related to the Crosses tried to pick on Cadmus, Hector would beat them to a pulp.

Varian and Jocasta

• Jocasta was working in an Upperlevel hospital prior to and around the time of The Purge, but saw how much the regime change neglected the people in the Sub/Midlevels so she quit her job and took on a new one at a clinic in the Midlevels.
• Varian and Jocasta are repair shop owners who weren’t really affected by the change of Regime. Jocasta manages the finances while also working her clinic job.
• The two met when they were in medical school. Varian originally was going to be a surgeon but was more interested in the technical aspect of things and dropped out. He entered medical school to please his parents, but after getting some advice from friends and advisors, he decided to take the reins of his life and do what he had always wanted to as a vocation.
• Jocasta was in a few of his classes and the two hit it off; Varian helped her with her nanotech and prosthetic studies since he was more knowledgeable about that type of subject.
• Varian is very stubborn and longsuffering. He can fluctuate between quiet and loud in a heartbeat depending on the situation.
• Jocasta is the more commanding and strict of the two of them and takes charge with the kids. Varian can be something of a pushover with their children and will buy them goodies when out shopping if they express an interest in an item. When Jocasta had to go to medical conferences, he let the kids eat whatever they wanted to—they had ice cream and cake for breakfast on more than one occasion.
• Jocasta helps Varian to design simple prosthetics; more complicated prosthetics need to be designed by those in the medical profession, so he’ll make feet, legs, replacement fingers.
• When Varian is arrested, Jocasta is greatly affected and rocked by the revelation that he was involved with Rogue activities and wouldn’t tell her, but puts on a brave face for her family.