All of the characters in Family of Me are different facets of me, the author (hence the name of the series). Each of my inner children represents a particular persona I use to process the world, reflected through the girl I was when that persona was most important. We all share the same name (Daphne), but each character has a unique nickname so it’s possible to tell everyone apart.
Age: Early 40s
First Appearance: Scene 1: The Mask
Likes: When her inner children thrive
Dislikes: Transphobia, exploitation
Mom represents me, Daphne⭐, as best I can represent myself. As an author stand-in, she has the unique power to control her surroundings directly. She’s hoping that by reflecting on her history with her inner children, she can better understand her own past. As her name indicates, she’s also mother to all of her inner children, and she does her best to extend grace and wisdom to all of them. She takes a kind and patient approach as a rule, but isn’t afraid to be firm when she needs to push her kids to grow.
Persona: The Survivor
Age: 13 – 18
First Appearance: Scene 1: The Mask
Likes: Daydreaming, doing girly things
Dislikes: Homework, not fitting in
Bloom is the youngest of the family, going all the way back to her first puberty, when her body was suddenly flooded with testosterone. She suffered a lot in high school, struggling to fit into a social role that suddenly felt alien to her. Learning that she’s actually a girl has given her a renewed enthusiasm for life, but she still struggles to deal with her high school memories.
Persona: The Friend
Age: 18 – 23
First Appearance: Scene 4: Meet College Daphne
Likes: Learning, reading, independence
Dislikes: Managing money
Kay is Daphne as she was in college, her first time away from home. She’s eager to enjoy her new freedom and grow in new ways, but also struggles with her anxieties and parts of her that she sees as weaknesses. Learning that she was always a girl was a great relief to her, and she’s been coming out of her shell ever since. She’s also the one who decided on the name Daphne. She was originally named Libra, but changed her name to Kay in Scene 124.
Persona: The Dreamer
Age: Varies
First Appearance: Scene 10: Meet Newly Independent Daphne
Likes: Success, friends
Dislikes: Losing control
Lark has been a part of Daphne for as long as she can remember, but in their 20s, Daphne’s dreams and professional aspirations became entangled and Lark found herself confined to Aura’s experience. Now that the two of them have been separated, Lark is expanding into the persona she once was. She’s much more laid back than her twin sister, and is willing to give herself the time she needs to come into her own.
Persona: The Companion
Age: 28 – 34
First Appearance: Scene 50: Dramatis Personae
Likes: Her partner, intimacy
Dislikes: Misunderstanding, feeling inadequate
Ivy found the person who she’ll start her own family with someday, transforming her from aimless single to committed partner. She’s learning new ways to exist around other people and new ways to move through the world. She quickly accepted that she’s always been a girl, but has a hard time really believing it without external validation. This internal struggle is gradually helping her frame her relationship in a more meaningful way.
Persona: The Professional
Age: 23 – 28
First Appearance: Scene 74: Recurring Scenes
Likes: Accuracy, progress, success
Dislikes: Miscommunication, losing control
Aura just graduated from college and is beginning to make her way in the “real world”. In trying to become independent and make her dreams a reality, her persona was tangled together with Lark’s for a long time. Unbeknownst to the rest of the family, she had been hiding within Lark until recently, when Mom separated the two of them with a hunch and a sharp push. Now her own persona again, she’s coming to terms with who she is as she struggles for acceptance from the rest of the family. She dislikes the name Daphne, still believing it to be childish, and prefers to go by her nickname Aura.
Persona: The Parent
Age: 34 – 39
First Appearance: Scene 121: Reinforcements
Likes: Children, change, triangles
Dislikes: Uncertainty, powerlessness
Twyla’s time started with the birth of her child, thrusting her into a new role of caretaker. She’s constantly adapting to the stress and wonder of parenthood as her child grows at a rapid pace. She accepted herself as trans immediately, having wrestled intensely with gender throughout her time.