Author’s Ambition Part 2

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I decided to write this to shed a bit of light on all the characters in the “Our Family Matters” stories. I have being writing about them for seven years and from the way things are going now they will be around for years to come.

Note: This was recently updated to reflect the events of “The Shattered Girl” and “Baby Shower”. If you haven’t finished reading them I suggest you stop now.

Name: Ted Toss

Debuted in: Pokemon: “To Be a Master”

Fictionpress Debut: “Our Family Matters”

Age: 40 (though his age was reversed to 25 by an Angel)

Ethnicity: Black/African American

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Black

Married to: Ann-Marie Toss

Recently Divorced: Terra Ortega (formerly Terra Toss)

Children: Finnaran Xavier (23), Katrina (23), Celeste (18), Mark Anthony (14), Angel (6), Serenity (4), Alana (1) and Nicholas (1).

Grandchildren: Aeris (Infant), Talen and Evelyn

Known Languages: English, French, Korean and Vietnamese

Hometown: Boston, MA

Occupation: Currently Retired (as of “Our Family Matters 2”)

Little Known Fact: Ted makes a living serving others

Ted’s been around for a long time. When I did “To Be a Master” Ted was just 12 years old. Since then he has matured dramatically. He married Ann when he was 18 and they had three children together: Fin, Katrin and Celes. Because I wanted to further develop him and using Fanfiction as the medium was proving to be a pain, I decided to bring him here to Fictionpress.

Introduced in “Our Family Matters”, Ted married both Ann and Terra when he was 18. He worked for City Year for 20 years before running for Mayor of Boston. Over the course of “Our Family Matters 2” it is revealed that Ted is skilled in the ways of the sword.

He has five children with Ann: Katrina and Finnaran (Twins, now aged 23), Celes (16) and Alana and Nicholas (1 year-old twins). He and Ann also adopted 6 year-old Angel, a girl orphaned in a North Korean death camp. Ted became a grandfather when Celes gave birth to a baby girl, Serenity at 17. Fin and his wife Gina are also expecting a baby as well.

This may not seem so obvious after reading “Our Family Matters” but all of Ted’s children are biracial, the exception of course being Angel. With such an international family you can’t help but wonder if the story will continue through one of his children. I was thinking about that but Ted has many years worth of adventure to pursue.

Name: Ann-Marie Toss

Debuted in: “Space Ball”

Fictionpress Debut: “Our Family Matters”

Age: 40 (though reversed by 25 by an Angel)

Ethnicity: Asian

Eye Color: Black

Hair Color: Black

Married to: Ted Toss

Children: Finnaran Xavier (23), Katrina (23) Celeste (18) Alana (1) and Nicholas (1)

Grandchildren: Aeris (Infant), Talen and Evelyn

Known Languages: Korean, English, Vietnamese, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and French.

Hometown: Boston, MA

Born in: South Korea (adopted as a child by American Parents)

Occupation: Executive General Manager of Six Flags New England

Little Known Fact: As a result of the training she took as a child she has developed remarkable psychic powers.

Ann has come a long way after she, along with Ted and Tom was asked to save the world as children. Since then she gave birth to a hybrid child and even traveled through time to fight a war. She would have been finished if I kept her in her recurring roles at Fanfiction. Since coming here she has stepped out of Ted’s shadow and come into her own.

Introduced in “Our Family Matters” she is a pregnant businesswoman who has to deal with her younger daughter becoming a teen mother, face her disturbing past and comfort a girl orphaned by the death camp that trained her. Add to that both her children and Terra’s and you have a very busy household.

Name: Terra Ortiz (Formerly Toss)

Debuted in: “Our Family Matters”

Age: 35

Ethnicity: Hispanic/American Indian

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Black and Brown

Recently Divorced: Ted Toss

Children: Mark Anthony (14) and Serenity (4)

Known Languages: English, Spanish, Cape Verde, Portuguese Farsi, Afrikaans and Zulu

Born in: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Hometown: Capetown, South Africa (lived there for the majority of her childhood)

Lives in: Seattle, Washington (As of “Life Goes On”)

Occupation: Principal of Bill Gates High School

Little Known Fact: The true reason behind her divorcing Ted

This Terra debuted on Fictionpress. The one I used before was the Terra of Final Fantasy VI. If you have been worried about character development, your worries will be over in the forthcoming story “Life Goes On”.

Of course, most of the family is still reeling after she announced her divorce, moving to Seattle and being pregnant—all at the same time. Everyone thought it would’ve been Ann to end the three-way marriage they shared with Ted. Looks like she proved them all wrong…

Name: Tomiko Morado a.k.a. Tom Ado

Debuted in: “Space Ball”

Fictionpress Debut: “Half Life”

Age: 40 (though his age was reversed to 25 by an Angel)

Ethnicity: Caucasian/Native American

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Black

Married to: Marina Morado

Known Languages: All of Them

Hometown: Boston, MA

Occupation: United States Marine Reserve (Inactive, currently working as a Mercenary)

Team Members: Ted Toss, Zeke, (As of “Life Goes On”), Ed Ross, Kodak and Marina

Little Known Fact: Tomiko has clearance to use anything man-made on earth

Ah, Tom. If you put his short name together you get “Tomato”. Well, not exactly but you get the idea. As a kid he helped Ted and Ann defend the world from Alien Invaders. This is also the first time Tom’s ethnicity has been fully revealed. Originally, Tom was Asian and Ann was Hispanic. I decided to change that when they moved to Fictionpress.

Now a man, Tom kicks ass for a living. You got to see some of what he can do in “Half Life” and in “Our Family Matters 2” Kodak and Marina joined up with him and longtime partner, Ed Ross. At the start of “Life Goes On”, Ted and Zeke join up with him for an important mission.

Tom has risked his life fighting the world’s worst. Will all that do him any good when Marina makes him a father? You’ll have to wait and see!

Name: Serenity Toss

Introduced in: “Our Family Matters”

Age: 4

Ethnicities: Black/African American, Hispanic and American Indian

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Black

Parents: Ted and Terra

Siblings: Alana and Nicholas (1), Angel (6), Mark Anthony (14), Celes (17), Finnaran (23) and Katrin (23)

Born in: Boston, MA

Lives in: Seattle, WA (As of “Life Goes On”)

Little Known Fact: Serenity knows how to fight with Hand Axes

Serenity was actually the first “Perfect Baby” I made using The Sims 2. Ted and Terra were her parents anyway so I decided to put her in the story. I don’t have much to say on her--yet. She will be getting some much-needed character development in the forthcoming story.

Name: Finnaran Xavier Toss

Introduced in: “Pokemon World War”

Fictionpress Debut: “Our Family Matters”

Age: 23

Ethnicities: Black/African American, Asian

Eye Color: Black

Hair Color: Light Brown, Black

Parents: Ted and Ann-Marie Toss

Married to: Gina Toss

Siblings: Katrina (23), Celeste (17), Mark Anthony (14), Angel (6) Serenity (4), Nicholas (1) and Alana (1)

Known Languages: English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic and Zulu

Hometown: Boston, MA

Lives in: Little Rock, Arkansas

Occupation: Founder and CEO of Natural State Mall (Arkansas)

Little Known Fact: Fin won the title “World’s Strongest Man” 3 years in a row

Fin had a shocking personality in his Fanfiction Days. Well, I’ve taken away his “Shocking Power” and made him a bit of what I am now. He’s young but cares deeply about his family—both his current one and the one he married for. The forthcoming story has Fin in a role that may prove to be the most challenging yet—a father.

You’ll notice Hannah is absent from Fin’s info above even though she lived with him for almost 2 years. Don’t worry—you’ve not seen the last of her.

Name: Gina Toss

Introduced in: “Our Family Matters”

Age: 21

Ethnicity: Hispanic

Eye Color: Black

Hair Color: Black

Married to: Finnaran Toss

Known Siblings: Alex Garcia (18)

Known Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese and Cape Verde

Hometown: Boston, MA

Lives in: Little Rock, Arkansas

Occupation: Vice-President of Natural State Mall (Arkansas)

Little Known Fact: The fact that she and Alex are Brother and Sister

Up to now she played a small role as Fin’s wife. She is also the sister of Alex, Celes’ husband. I didn’t mean to give her such a small role but it just happened. When writing you have to pick and choose who you want to develop more and she wasn’t priority. She really shined in “Judgment Call”, though. If things work out Gina will emerge as a defining Character.

Name: Katrina Toss

Introduced in: “Pokemon World War”

Fictionpress Debut: “Our Family Matters”

Age: 23

Ethnicities: Black/African American, Asian

Eye Color: Black

Hair Color: Black and Dark Brown

Parents: Ted and Ann-Marie Toss

Siblings: Finnaran Xavier (23), Celeste (17), Mark Anthony (14), Angel (16) Serenity (4), Alana (1) and Nicholas (1)

Children: Talen (Lives with Midas), Evelyn and seven more unnamed children

Currently in a relationship with: Midas, Crown Prince of Kyomora

Lives with: Myra and Shaun Retmier

Known Languages: Korean, English, Farsi, Spanish and German

Hometown: Boston, MA

Lives in: New York City, New York

Occupation: R&B/Jazz Artist (On leave from City Year)

Little Known Fact: To be revealed…

Ah, Fin’s “better half”. Before, she was a child prodigy with the ability to read minds and walk through walls. Now an adult, she’s stepped into her own with a job in New York City. After she won the American Idol contest she became a super star. Although she turned down the fame and fortune immediately after winning she decided to pursue a career in music her own way.

There is still one thing about Katrin that is so big I’m putting it off until the start of the “Life Goes On”. Mind you, there IS one more story before I get to that so you have quite a wait ahead of you!

Name: Celeste “Celes” Toss

Introduced in: “Our Family Matters”

Age: 18

Ethnicities: Asian, Black/African American

Eye Color: Black

Hair Color: Black

Parents: Ted and Ann-Marie Toss

Married to: Alex Garcia (as of “The Shattered Girl”)

Children: Aeris C. Toss (1)

Siblings: Alana (1), Nicholas (1), Serenity (4), Angel (6), Mark Anthony (14), Katrina (23) and Finnaran Xavier (23)

Known Languages: English, French, Cape Verde, Spanish, Vietnamese and Korean

Hometown: Boston, MA

Lives in: Chicago, Illinois

Occupation: Med Student/Resident

Little Known Fact: Was secretly trained by her father to fight with a sword

Celes! My favorite of Ann and Ted’s children. She was actually introduced in “Pokemon World War” but she was born during that fanfic. I tried giving her an older role in “Pokemon: Advance Generation” But I hit writer’s block for the first time and ended up killing it.

Celes thought becoming a teen parent was going to be terrible but with the support of her parents and big sister she’s been managing just fine. Now living in New York, she finds out at the start of “The Shattered Girl” that she is expecting another baby. How does this all play out with her parents and her future in medicine? Only time will tell.

Name: Jennifer “Jenna” Haley

Introduced in: “Aeris C”

Age: 18

Ethnicity: Asian

Eye Color: Black

Hair Color: Dark Brown

Known Languages: English, French, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean

Hometown: Boston, MA

Lives in: Chicago, Illinois

Occupation: Grad Student

Number of times killed: twice—the first was shortly after the events of “Aeris C.” The second was in the opening chapter of “Our Family Matters 2.”

Little Known Fact: Jenna can remember anything she sees or hears, no matter how irrelevant it is.

In a sense, she may be viewed as the girl with 9 lives, though she’s only used two of them. She played a lead role opposite Celes in “Aeris C” and was dead through almost all of “Our Family Matters 2”. Call it sick but she will experience death yet again in “As Life Goes On”.

Name: Angel Toss

Introduced in: “Half-Life”

Age: 6

Ethnicity: Asian

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: White

Known Languages: English, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean

Adopted by: Ted and Ann Toss

Alana (1), Nicholas (1), Serenity (4), Mark Anthony (14), Angel (18), Katrina (23) and Finnaran Xavier (23)

Hometown: Boston, MA

Born in: North Korea

Little Known Fact: Angel has yet to reach her full potential as a Spellcaster.

Until now I have kept Angel’s appearance a complete mystery. Now you know. After her premier story opposite Hannah she’s going to grow up a bit but not too much…

Name: Ed Ross

Debuted in: “Pokemon: To be a Master”

Fictionpress Debut: “Half-Life”

Age: 28

Ethnicity: Caucasian/Arabic

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Black

Known Languages: All of Them

Lives in: Death Valley, Arizona

Hometown: Baghdad, Iraq

Occupation: United States Marine Reserve (Inactive, currently working as a Mercenary)

Team Members: Ted Toss, Zeke, (As of “Life Goes On”), Tom Ado, Kodak and Marina

Little Known Fact: Ed is the World’s Best Sniper and is skilled in the ways of Torture

In his debut Ed Ross played Ted’s evil clone and boy, was he evil! He even went so far as trying to kill Ted in his younger days at one point. In his FP debut I made him one of the good guys for the greater good. In “Baby Shower” it is revealed that Ed Ross is VERY skilled in the ways of Forced Interrogation.

While Ted and Ed are on the same side right now, that doesn’t meant they won’t clash at some point…

Name: Hannah Patterson

Introduced in: “The Baby Experiments”

Age: 18

Ethnicity: African American

Eye Color: Black

Hair Color: Black

Known Languages: English, French and Spanish

Adopted by: Finnaran Xavier and Gina Toss

Children: Ted Toss III

Other Known Relatives: Kevin (father), Mother (deceased), Terra (Aunt)

Lives in: Little Rock, Arkansas (with Kevin)

Hometown: Boston, MA

Little Known Fact: When push goes to shove, Hannah will not hesitate to kill or maim any who oppose her

Guess what? You now know Hannah’s last name! I just checked and I discovered I never used it in any of the stories that feature her. It’s nothing big but hey. For those who didn’t read “The Baby Experiments” and “Judgment Call”, Hannah killed her mother.

After doing some time she lived with Fin until it was revealed that the father she never knew was not only alive but looking for her. Due to being raised like an animal Hannah’s got some demons that she’ll never be rid of. You’ll see some of them in action in the feature entitled “Angel and Hannah”.

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Alright I’m going to stop there. Everyone else is either too new (The Twins Ilana and Nick) or have not played a major role yet (Myra, Julie, etc.) in the series. Also I want to make an important announcement regarding the Chronicles of Ted Toss and that is this.

At the conclusion of Our Family Matters 3 I will remove ALL stories involving the Toss Family and Team Aurabolt. Of course, The Ted Toss Prequel will be coming before that so relax!