_Joah_Shipper_ and I had a long ass convo ab all the characters home lives and relationships with their parents so creds to them for some of these lol.
Richelle:
Her parents were pretty absent, they were always gone for work and she was left to grow up on her own. She taught herself everything she knows and is very independent. She spent her teenage years working crazy hard and learnt pretty quickly that the world owes you nothing. In hopes of getting the attention younger her desperately craved, she decided she was gonna work her ass off and be the best dancer she could be but in the process developed a wall making it difficult to keep and make new friends. To some people she comes across as selfish but the only reason she seems this way is because Richelle is all she's ever known. She never had anyone else to focus on or really care about. She's had friends but never had friends. You know, ride or dies, 4 lifers. She had people to sit with at lunch and people to go bowling with on weekends but she never really considered them friends. They were more like her 'go to' people. It wasn't like the friendships you see in the movies, where you actually really care about one another and got to know each other. She wanted a friendship like that, she wanted someone to see her beyond her exterior layer, kind of like a mother does.. A mother sees you and loves you before your anything and because Richelle never really had that, it made her want it even more. When she came to the next step she finally did. She met people who cared about her regardless of her achievements or mistakes. She didn't have to try to be loved. She was finally loved by just being herself and although she made many mistakes and it took time to get used to having real friends she couldn't be more grateful for the people currently in her life.
Ozzy and Izzy:
They have pretty chill parents. Sure they would embarrass them from time to time at dance recitals and school talent shows but overall their great loving parents. They have a huge family and often go on small trips to see their relatives. The whole family has a great appreciation for their culture all though Izzy makes more of an effort than Ozzy does. Their parents were super supportive when izzy came out as non binary and even before that every year the fam would go to pride events and show their support.
Amy:
Her mom (Gail) is super strict and a total control freak feeling the need to manage every aspect of Amy's life. Because of this she is really good at breaking rules without getting caught. She did everything behind her moms back when she was younger. She became really sneaky around the age of 13 and was obsessed with breaking rules because she was finally in control of her own life. She would sneak out every other night and wear revealing clothes and tons of makeup, she didn't really like to drink but she did it anyways cause she knew her mum wouldn't let her and she had plenty of douchebag boyfriends. Thankfully overtime she got back on track and was making better choices again but this time it was on her own terms. Her and her dad have a special bond. Her dad is more laid back and lets her be an actual teenager. They have inside jokes and complain to each other about how control crazy her mom is but above all that her mom and dads relationship is solid and they treat her well.
Kingston:
Kingstons Home Life is a bit like Amy's. His parents are quite strict and have all these expectations for him. They were never keen on him being a dancer. They didn't want him to focus on something that wasn't studies that's why they never let him take dance classes and made him dance in the basement. His parents have always had crazy high expectations and are easily disappointed in him. His little sister has her whole life planned out, gets excellent grades and has a bazillion extra curricular activities so his mom never lets him hear the end of it. Constantly being compared to his little sister makes him feel like total crap thats why he loves dancing so much. It makes him feel like he's enough, he can do something his sister can't for once. His parents don't see it that way though, they just see dance as a distraction or a silly interest. He's just accepted that they'll never come around to the whole dance thing. It sucks but regardless he loves them and he knows they love him, he just wishes they could be proud of him for once.
Piper and James:
Their home life is pretty good aside from the whole dad thing. When Piper was 8 and James was 12 their dad ended up with an alcohol problem after dealing with depression and anxiety for years. He was never a bad dad. He tried his best to provide for his kids but there were days where they were left walk to school because he wouldn't get out of bed. Things started rapidly going downhill after this one night. He came home from the pub totally sloshed during one of pipers slumber parties. The next day everyone went home really early and Deborah was yelling at him all morning because of what all those poor kids had to witness the previous night. After that, the next few weeks he was coming home drunk as ever every few nights and if anyone said a word to him he would yell and break things. Than one night things completely spiralled out of control and he really crossed the line. Deborah finally snapped and kicked him out for good because whether he meant it or not he was now a danger to his own family. They never found what happened to their dad after that but they never heard from him so it was easy to make assumptions. No one likes to talk about it so everyone just swept it under the rug and moved on with their lives. To this day neither of them bring it up. They'd like to think that what happened that night didn't leave an impact on their lives but it did more damage than they'd like to admit. Piper is now shit scared she'll turn into her dad, James nor any of her sisters seem to struggle with their well-being like she does so she's trying her absolute best to take little to no risk and maintain a good lifestyle knowing that mental illness and alcoholism runs in the family. This explains her strive for perfection and why all her friends would consider her the goodie goodie or the wet blanket of the group.
Kenzie:
Her family is a lot like Ozzy's. Her parents are super supportive of her and her interest. She's really close with her mom and her sister but also connects with her dad through style. Her and her dad are kind of obsessed with fashion and since she was a little girl. Her and her dad would often go clothes shopping together because they both have a great sense of style. He's always picking out outfits for her, buying her jewellery and helping her take pics for her Instagram. Sometimes he lets her do his makeup and upload it to her YouTube channel. Their household is the fun laid back full of laughs with blasting music house. Everyone on atroupe agrees that Kenzie's house is the best place to hang. Theres nothing super cool about her house like a massive screening room or a light up pool, it's just an average home. Everyone loves her house the most because it's so comfortable, her family is so welcoming plus their snack game is next level.
Lily:
She's an only child and was very much spoilt rotten but thats only because her parents got divorced when she was 9. There was no dramatic incident to blame, the marriage just wasn't working. She often wonders why they got married in the first place, she can't remember a time where they weren't fighting. It wasn't us usual for younger lily to find herself in bed at 6pm under the covers trying to go to sleep because she was sick of listening to her parents fight. She was honestly relieved when her mom told her they were getting divorced, it was finally over. She spent of a lot of time at her best friends house to avoid her mess of a family and she called her best friends parents Aunty and uncle even though they had no blood relation. She felt at home there and was considered part of the family. She decided to stay with her mom after the divorce because her dad was moving back to his hometown and she didn't want to leave her friends and second family behind although it was rough because her dad was the better half when it came to parenting. Her mom has always been pretty self absorbent. She wanted lily to excel in everything she did to make herself look good, like she wants to win parenting and rub her success as a mother in everyone's faces even if it means she has to cheat her way to the top. Lily never gets a say, her mum is always right. It's always her way or no way so it's been been difficult to negotiate what she wants with her mom. Thankfully the older she gets, the more courage she has to speak up for herself and make her own decisions.
Should I do a pt2? If so comment what characters you wanna see and ur theories lol
