Types of Families
Overview
Family is the most important unit of mole society. But it’s not the blood families that are cherished the most, it’s their Glittergoth family they create for themselves through meeting friends and romantic partners. These families can come in all forms and sizes, from small ones, with only 2 members, all the way up to large communities found in Fairy Gardens, that can have up to 100 or even more members.
These families usually consist of siblings, and romantic partners and BFFs. Marriage between two BFFs are equal to romantic marriages in the mole society, which helps with forming these large families. Sometimes, two families can also form an alliance with each other, without any of their members being married. Glittergoth families, especially the larger ones, chose one leader that is in charge of everything that goes on with the family and makes all the important decisions.
People may start forming bonds with others as children, but belong to their parents’ family until the end of high school. After high school, they may marry their BFFs and move out with them, or stay single until they meet the family they want to marry into.
These families bring many benefits, such as better financial stability, emotional support, general help with life and security. Many families will offer all of these to new members that may not yet be officially married into the family, but are deemed trustworthy and already considered the member of the family by everyone involved.
Forming families
First family of a person is the family they are born into: their parents and siblings. It’s not uncommon for their parents to be closely connected with their BFFs, who may also have children of their own. They can quickly become one’s first friends. In many cases, these friendships last forever, but that’s not always true. Soon, children start going to school, where they have a chance to start meeting new people, making new friends and maybe even getting to know their first girlfriends or boyfriends. This is a time when many find their BFFs that they later marry, but not everyone is that lucky.
Up until the end of high school, children are still a part of their parents’ family, but after the end of school, it’s time for them to start forming families of their own. Of course, they still remain related to their parents and enjoy many benefits of their blood related family, but in many ways they now start to detach from it. Many of the best friends that have met in childhood are now ready to get married, and form their new basic 2 person family. Sometimes they have siblings who are a part of the same family, and sometimes they may already have their boyfriends or girlfriends who live together with the family until they are ready to get married. And so, as the time passes, more and more people join the family. People marry their best friends, and romantic partners, these then bring in their own best friends and romantic partners and so on. People who stayed single after high school are now meeting their own friends and romantic partners, or join these already existing families. As the family grows, one of the members is chosen to be the leader of the family.
Family leaders
Every larger family chooses one member to be their leader. The leader is usually in charge of everything that goes on in the family, from financial stuff, to relations between members. The leader must approve any BFF or romantic marriage, every business that any member wants to start, and everything in between. He is to settle disputes between members of his own family, as well as with members of other families. He keeps track of the money earned and money spent and has to give approval to any larger expense.
While larger families usually tend to stick together and keep to themselves, a lot of people still make friends outside of their family, and sometimes, if it seems beneficial, two families can form an official alliance with each other, without any of their members having to be married to each other. When more time passes, some of the members may decide that they are ready to have children. It's ideal that member of the family have similar goals and start havign chidren around the same time, but it's also very possible for a young couple with their first child to start detaching somewhat form the family, or even find a new family with the same goals. Most of the time they will still stay in close touch wiht their original family, and won't actually completely separate form them unless osmething is very wrong.
Allied Families
Something has alrady been said about allied families. Allied families are usually small families consisting of 2-4 people, that choose to form an alliance with a larger family. These alliances aren't formed by famlies marrying into each other via BFF or romantic marriage, but though an agreement between the leaders of the families.
After alliance is formed, these families are still separate to some extent, but also work more like a one big family with two leaders. This is good, because when you have two (or sometimes maby more) families allied together, you end up with quite a lot of people that are harder to manage. This way, the leadership responsibilities get divided between two people, which makes things easier for everyone.
Sizes & Types:
Families across the world may have different sizes, depending on the lifestyle lived in a certain area.
- Wasteland - People in wasteland treat families differently as in the rest of the world. Many people are here only temporarily, and don’t settle here with families. Due to the harsh conditions, all people here stitck together as one big family, but true close bonds are usually formed between only 2-4 best friends/partners. When a family reaches 3 or 4 members, they usually choose to move out to T@Ö#Ä3, where they settle down with their family and expand it further.
- T@Ö#Ä3, Ä+*4~ - Families in City of T@Ö#Ä3 and Towns of Ä+*4~ are what most people will think of first when they think of a family. These are standard families, anywhere from younger 2 people families, and all the way to more established ones that can have up to 20 people. These families are known to change and grow rapidly, until they reach a bigger amount of people and more steady bonds. People of T@Ö#Ä3 tend to be more intoverted though, forming smaller and more stable families.
- Ä+*4~, Fairy Gardens - Families in Central Areas of Ä+*4~ and fairy Gardens, as well as the Rich Area of Ä+*4~, are known to have larger, more stable and wealthier families. These are older families, and families of the children of rich parents.
- Towns of Fairy Gardens - Families here tend to be the biggest. While in town centers, family sizes rarely exceed 20 people, outside of town centers families usually exceed this size. Alliances between families are also more common here. Families here tend their own gardens together and find it beneficial to form many friendly bonds and help each other with work.
- Fields of Fairy Gardens - This area is known to have the biggest families. They are more closely connected to their blood families as well as Glittergoth families, couples have more children, and a lot of those marry between families. These families quickly grow into large communities that often have well over 100 people. These farms usually grow into tiny villages that tend to their large farms.
- Bat Families - These are the families of bat people living in Wasteland. They are something in between Wasteland families and farm families of Fairy Gardens. They live in these settlements with buildings connected to each other, and the families here are connected to each other in a simmilar manner. These settlements tend to be pretty small, and everyone in them considers themselves to be one big family. They also tend to work together with other settlements nearby.
- Caravan Families - These are special kind of families that live on the road and travel all across the world. They are in charge of transporting goods to and form all of the areas for the world. These families usually have about 20-30 people and only rarely have kids. You can read more about them here.
Benefits
Being a part of a family is always beneficial, the bigger the family, the better the benefits.
The first one, is simply being a part of a family, having the sense of belonging and knowing you have a family who stands by your side.
A lot of people are also interested in financial benefits, especially of larger families. A family shares all their wealth with all members equally. Furthermore, being a part of a good family can help someone business or career-wise. If you’re in the right family, they will help back your business and will pull strings for you to get ahead. Your success and happiness means success and happiness for all of the family.
But all of it doesn’t only revolve around money. Your family will stand by you through any hardship you may face. Disputes with others, physical or mental illness, and if you marry into a family that has a fairy or a satanic priest, you may more easily earn yourself good favor with gods. Especially in Fairy Gardens, having a large family means more help with work on farms or in gardens.
However, in larger families it’s harder to avoid drama and disputes between members of the family, that’s why many prefer smaller families. A smaller and more tightly knit family of the few truly best friends can mean more than money. These families are easier to manage and they often don’t have a chosen leader. While some disputes are unavoidable, they are easier to resolve and decisions are made more quickly.
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