Team Relatives

Thorn has two mothers, Clover and Plum, and an older sister, Tansy. She's married with two kids, and they live in Central; now that Thorn is local, he sees them a lot.

His blood relatives are mostly Iuilic, his in-laws are Aibreán, and his niece and nephew are mixed. All of them have Ceannic as their native language.

In the comic: Tansy Lavande

Thorn's sister, several years older, married to Larch with two children. (Conceived with artificial insemination, and she still has extra eggs on ice, available to Thorn if he wants them.) She's the well-adjusted one, especially when it comes to their parents. Wears reading glasses.

Tansy is a geologist, and can be called up by the government to serve in geology-related emergencies, as seen in Landslide Bring Me Down. She also regularly travels around the world for professional conferences.

Fan of a wacky sci-fi program whose main character is named Franklin Roosevelt. She wore a handmade costume of them one time.

• Age (first appearance): 39
• Ethnicity: Iuilic
• Likes: rocks, tiny people, speculative fiction
• Dislikes: assumed monogamy

• Debut: Family Dinner 1/14
• Family Dinner: welcomes Thorn back to town
• Performance Review: updates Thorn's memory of their moms
• Landslide Bring Me Down: makes friends with Matatuhi Kaihanga and Patotara Kaihang; consults on the building of the drill to rescue the miners
• Family Deserts: saves a copy of Kale's recording, gives Hyacinth advice on dealing with toxic relatives
• Party Prep: shows Mata and Pato around her house's giant appliances
• Call and Answer: shows wellness-checkers that her kids are fine, and her in-laws are toxic

In the comic: Larch Lavande

Thorn's brother-in-law, married to Tansy. Doesn't see sexiness. Can't out-wrestle Thorn, but keeps trying, and he'd rather lose honestly than have his ego soothed with a fake win.

He's a college choir director, and travels frequently with the team for performances at other schools. His favorite coffee mug says “I really Alto stay out of Treble”. (Tansy's counterpart says “Of Quartz I Rock.”)

• Age (first appearance): 37
• Ethnicity: Aibrean
• Likes: music, wrestling, bad puns
• Dislikes: disorganized houses, dealing with his parents

• Debut: Family Dinner 1/14
• Family Dinner: challenges Thorn to a wrestling match
• Family Deserts: calls Thorn for assistance fending off his parents, admits to Kale that he'd magically change their minds if he could
• Party Prep: organizes the living room, gets into a singalong with Leif
• Call and Answer: gives Kale deep-pressure therapy (i.e. a hug).

In the comic: Hyacinth Lavande

Thorn's niece. (Significantly taller than he is; she obviously got that from Larch's side of the family.) Very concerned about social justice: researches history, goes to protests, gets panicky when she can't figure out whether a term is offensive.

Went full-on goth not long ago. Her natural hair color is spring-green; she dyes it black to match her black makeup and all-black wardrobe. Long-time friends with fellow goths Vine Fenouil and Angelica Thatcher; strikes up a new friendship with Hazel, turning into a crush.

Speaks school-level Sønska, as a fan of several Sønska-language media, including the Holger Saga.

Hyacinth is intersex, with androgen insensitivity syndrome on the X chromosome. (She got that from Tansy's side of the family.)

• Age (first appearance): 15
• Ethnicity: Iuilic/Aibrean
• Likes: wearing black, violent/dark/gory art and fiction, skulls, social justice
• Dislikes: vampires, people assuming she's depressed

• Debut: Family Dinner 5/14
• Family Dinner: calls out Sønheim as an oppressive slave-holding regime
• Vampire Masquerade: goes to an anti-vampire protest, meets Astrid Rødlund
• Fish Story: admires cool fish at the aquarium, calls out Holly Cerise on making up stories (but comes around on her in the end)
• Extremely Competent Uncle Thorn: advises Thorn on better babysitting practices
• The Successful Social Life of Hyacinth Lavande: meets Hazel, brings her into the friend group, starts clashing with Angelica
• Remodeling: goes shopping with Hazel and Vine, talks about family history
• Family Deserts: contacted by her grandparents behind her parents' back; wonders if she can fix them
• Party Prep: upsets Leif by arguing about how oppressed he is; Thorn gets her to realize that what he actually needs most in that moment is a break from thinking about it
• The Musical Night of Hyacinth Lavande: watches Kolpovision with friends, discovers Angelica has been telling her and Vine contradictory stories about Hazel, and about each other
• The Stressful School Day of Hazel Cherieshnya: investigates anonymous net harassment towards Hazel

In the comic: Hawthorn Lavande

Thorn's nephew. Has changeling syndrome; his family is used to him avoiding eye contact.

Hawthorn collects historical icons, can recite lots of comic strips verbatim, will only eat a limited number of foods, and doesn't like when things get moved or changed around. Don't talk to him in the quiet room.

• Age (first appearance): 10
• Ethnicity: Iuilic/Aibrean
• Likes: historical trivia, playtime setups, comics, video games
• Dislikes: disruptions in his routine, most food, sensory overload

• Debut: Family Dinner 9/14
• Extremely Competent Uncle Thorn: struggles to adjust to Thorn's babysitting
• Family Deserts: asserts his right to bodily autonomy
• Plus Ones: watches Kolpovision in cosplay until he's had enough of the crowd; asserts the importance of quiet in the quiet room

In the comic: Clover Estragon

Thorn's mom #1. Former member of the Ceannic Navy. Died in a famous sea-monster attack when Thorn was 17. He doesn't like to talk about it.

After marrying Plum, Clover pursued a long string of ambitious but unsuccessful business ventures, spurred on by unmedicated bipolar disorder. She lost a lot of Plum's money and spent a lot of time away from home. Eventually, no one but Thorn still believed she was going to make it big any day now.

Clover also had AIS, and wouldn't have been able to reproduce unaided. Plum wanted biological children, so they spent a lot of money at a magical fertility clinic. Clover passed her affected X chromosome on to Tansy, and a Y chromosome on to Thorn.

As of this writing, only seen in bonus art and flashbacks.

In the comic: Plum Estragon

Thorn's mom #2. Has worked in music, teaching, and publishing. Alive, retired.

Plum was the relatively sheltered daughter of a traditional Iuilic family; Clover was an adventurous Navy hotshot who, ah…expanded her horizons.

As a young adult she became a one-hit wonder under the stage name “Ti$ha”, with the hit song “Spotlight.”

• Age (first appearance): 65
• Ethnicity: Iuilic

As of this writing, only seen in bonus art and flashbacks.

In the comic: Grandma Mulberry

Plum's mother, and the only one of Thorn's grandparents still alive.

Mulberry is bilingual in Ceannic and Iudish, though Plum never picked much of the latter up.

As of this writing, only seen in bonus art.

In the comic: Gloriosa Lavande

Larch Lavande's mother. He was her golden child, and she's never forgiven Tansy for taking him away. Toxic and invasive.

• Age (first appearance): late 60's
• Ethnicity: Aibrean

• Debut: Family Deserts 9/33
• Family Deserts: attempts to stomp on Larch's boundaries, then Tansy's, then Hawthorn's, then (over the net) Hyacinth's; attempts to set up Thorn as assaulting her; gets chased away with a garden hose
• Through Lights and Shadows: gets chased away with a terrifying illusion by Kale

In the comic: Oleander Lavande

Larch Lavande's father, and Gloriosa's husband. Always ready to support and back up his wife. Also toxic and invasive.

• Age (first appearance): late 60's
• Ethnicity: Aibrean

• Debut: Family Deserts 17/33
• Family Deserts: shouts at anyone who challenges Gloriosa's version of events; gets chased away with a garden hose
• Through Lights and Shadows: gets chased away with a terrifying illusion by Kale

In the comic: Lupine Lavande

Larch's younger sister. Shares a goth fashion sense with Hyacinth, and changeling syndrome with Hawthorn.

As of this writing, only seen in bonus art and a Thorn Explains bonus strip.

In the comic: Linden Lavande

Larch's younger brother. Used to be the family scapegoat.

As of this writing, only seen in bonus art.

Atarangi Neineikura is not in touch with her biological family. As part of a plural system, she and her headmates refer to each other as “family” or “siblings”.

Atarangi switches off body time with two headmates, Kallie and Kiki. They have some number of other headmates who rarely, if ever, come to the front.

In the comic: Kallie Neineikura

Tiny adventurous kinkster, with a thing for “giants.” Confident in the face of change, comfortable going with the flow. “Kallie” is short for Kaleo.

She's a Crystagram influencer, @makeup.by.kallie, reviewing the brands available to Tamaputians living in Ceannis.

Headmate of Atarangi and Kiki Neineikura. Parts her hair on the left; has golden eyes.

• Ethnicity: Tamaputian
• Age (first appearance): mid 30's

• Debut: Every Body 1/23
• Every Body: goes to a mixed-size club, has an encounter with Violet Dupont (making things awkward when Violet meets Atarangi later), gets a pink cocktail sword

In the comic: Kiki Neineikura

Tiny teenage artist. She designed the body's tattoo. High-energy, and prone to saying things directly instead of dancing around them.

Headmate of Atarangi and Kallie Neineikura. Parts her hair in the center; has light pink eyes.

• Ethnicity: Tamaputian
• Age (first appearance): late teens

• Debut: Every Body 22/23
• Every Body: breaks up the Kallie-Atarangi fight by demanding her allocated drawing time
• Training Wreck: makes some inadvertent outbursts that are attributed to Atarangi, earning her some side-eye
• Spooky Headmates: uses a net forum to hang out with other teens from plural systems

In the comic: Pond Thing Neineikura

We do not speak about the Pond Thing.

(Fan-favorite headmate of Atarangi and the others.)

• Ethnicity: Pond creature
• Age (first appearance): ???
• Debut: Spooky Headmates

In the comic: Sandy Neineikura

Tiny nonbinary grunge gremlin. Headmate of Atarangi and the others. Lets their hair fall messily all over the place; has red eyes.

Sandy doesn't have a lot of pressing external-world interests (other than watching Kolpovision), so they tend not to fight with their more commonly-seen headmates over “body time.”

• Ethnicity: Tamaputian
• Age (first appearance): late teens/early 20's
• Debut: Plus Ones 18/38

Birch Persil (nee Baker) has two fathers and one mother, who have been in a plural marriage since before he was born, as well as “a ton of” older siblings.

He's married to Annie, and since she's an only child, he was the one to change his name.

In the comic: Annie Persil

Gem miner, don’cha know. “Annie” is short for Anise. Engaged to, and then married to, Birch Persil. (They met during the dragonslaying mission.)

Friendly, polite, enjoys long winters and deep-fried foods, talks in a fantasy-Midwestern accent. She’s one of the calmest and most-stable people on her team…although it might not be a good thing that she doesn’t get angry, even when she probably should.

There’s no single consistent design for her tattoos (upper left arm + left hip), because they shift and bloom throughout the day.

• Ethnicity: Aibreán
• Age (first appearance): 30
• Likes: Geodes, swing dance, fresh air, cute humans of all genders, cute animals of all species
• Dislikes: Secondhand embarrassment, enclosed spaces (as part of her post-rescue PTSD)

• Debut: The Actual Successful Dating Life of Birch Baker
• Landslide Bring Me Down: trapped in the mine collapse, keeps her colleagues' spirits up, has a long-distance wedding
• Romantic Bliss with Birch and Annie: lives and (mostly) enjoys her post-mining married life

In the comic: Birch's family

Parents of Birch Persil. Mom and Dad #1 (the older) were married first, then picked up Dad #2 and decided to keep him. Been in a plural marriage all of Birch's life.

Mom is the director of a fertility clinic.

• Ethnicity: Getsunese (first-generation living in Ceannis)
• Debut: Landslide Bring Me Down 65/75

Pascentia Zikos has a father and an older sibling, Dexie. She's close with Dex and their husband, i.e. her charming and personal brother-in-law.

Neither of the siblings are in touch with their father. (The fact that he was physically violent while raising them might have something to do with it.)

In the comic: this boring tag

Pascentia's older sibling, who has some unremarkable museum job. They're definitely not an elite undercover secret agent or anything.

In the comic: Hermosa Zikos

Handsome, brilliant, sensitive, wonderful, charming, thoughtful, generous, witty and kind husband of Dexippus Zikos. (Dexie likes to talk him up a lot.)

Previously a secret agent, Hermosa was assigned to work in Montmere, where he befriended Kudzu to investigate Nortwhind Prismaceuticals. He was at ground zero for Kudzu's outburst, and is currently recovering from the fallout.

Hermosa has the same kind of spelltech eyes as Kale (with burn-scarred sockets), and has brain damage resulting in aphasia, loss of depth perception, and memory problems.

Also has an elaborate floral back tattoo.

• Ethnicity: Feabhric
• Age (first non-flashback appearance): late 30's

• Debut: Expert, Witness 19/25
• Face reveal: Kudzu Roots 24/35
• Kudzu Roots: backstory revealed
• Call and Answer: first present-day appearance; gets Dex to agree not to hurt Kale (any more), then tips Dex off about their impending capture
• The Commitment: wakes up in a care facility with no memories since Montmere; assumes he's been captured by Northwind, sneaks away, and tries in vain to make contact with Dex; is considering asking Kudzu to try repairing the brain damage, when the Woman in Black gets him to hold still until Pascentia Zikos picks him up
• In The Same Boat: living at home under the guard of Marula Sheaver, trying to keep his memories straight

Rowan Muscade has a mother, a father, and younger twin siblings Rhodey and Rosie.

Another relative, Aspen, was abusive toward Rowan during private tutoring sessions when Rowan was a young teen. The rest of the family is no longer in touch with him.

In the comic: Ash Muscade

Rowan's father. Co-hosts an extreme home renovation series with his wife Zinnia. The partner least likely to destroy something with a jackhammer.

• Ethnicity: Aibreán
• Age (first appearance): mid '50s
• Debut: HAMMERED! Page 1

In the comic: Rhododendron Muscade

One of Rowan's younger siblings. “Rhodey” for short. Identical twin of Rosie Muscade. Works on Leachtric.

Rhodey is very into conspiracy theories, and thinks just about everything is a secret government plot.

• Ethnicity: Aibreán
• Age (first appearance): 10
• Age (first non-flashback appearance): 24

• Debut: Time and Tides 15/33
• Present-day debut: The Show Must Grow On (Intermission) 8/21
• The Show Must Grow On (Intermission): shows up to support Rowan
• Slow News Day: shares questionable takes with the listeners

In the comic: Rosie Muscade

One of Rowan's s younger siblings. Identical twin of Rhododendron Muscade. Costume designer for Leachtric.

Rosie is very into unproven “medical treatments,” and thinks anything with verifiable test results is a scam.

• Ethnicity: Aibreán
• Age (first appearance): 10
• Age (first non-flashback appearance): 24

• Debut: Slow News Day: Person-On-The-Street Interviews
• The Show Must Grow On (Intermission): shows up to support Rowan
• Slow News Day: shares questionable takes with the listeners

In the comic: Zinnia Muscade

Rowan's mother. Co-hosts an extreme home renovation series with her husband Ash. Trans woman, heavy accent, dangerous grin.

• Ethnicity: Aibreán
• Age (first appearance): mid '50s
• Debut: HAMMERED! Page 1

Violet Dupont has a mother, a father, and technically-a-sister Cymbeline.

In the comic: Cymbeline Dupont

Legal consul, Romarin Foundation. Long-runner, first born 450 years ago, previously incarnated as Radiance Cannelle. This is her fourth incarnation.

Although biologically she's Violet's little sister, Cymbeline/Radiance thinks of Violet and their parents as “the family that I, a fully-grown adult with a full life and personal history of my own, lived with for a few years” much more than as “my family.”

Her alternate universe counterpart in Magical Thorn, Act 5 is also Violet's sister, but as an ordinary small child, with no past-life memories.

• Ethnicity: Aibreán/Feabhric (current & previous incarnation)
• Age (first appearance, this incarnation): 2
• Age (in general): 9 years younger than Violet

• Debut: The Perennials 6/16
• The Perennials: deals with being an adult in a toddler/child body

In the comic: Violet's family

Parents of Violet Dupont and Cymbeline Dupont.

Mom is a retail worker, and Dad is a security guard.

• Ethnicty: Aibreán (mom), Feabhric (dad)
• Debut: The Perennials 7/16