Astrid

[   audacious   ||   spirited   ||   emphatic   ||   buoyant   ||   friendly    ]

Astrid is Aria's cheerful little housewife. While Aria works writing or teaching her writing courses at the University, Astrid keeps their home and manages their finances. Despite the fact that Aria can hardly stand Astrid's lively, optimistic personality, she considers Astrid her muse. 

Born in the frigid seas off the coast of Svalbard, Astrid now lives in Madrid and loves the pleasant weather, busy city, and rich culture. She is totally in love with Spain.

Astrid was raised by her single mother, who told her every day that she was beautiful, that she was smart, that she was capable of anything. She was brought up to show kindness to everyone, to never doubt herself, to stand by her beliefs. Her relationship with her mother was very close; she adored her mother and wanted to be as strong as she was one day. However, her mother fell very ill, and on her death bed revealed a dark family secret: she had two brothers. According to her mother, her father (who had been dead her whole life) had disowned two sons before her birth. He had been cruel to his first born children, and because of him and her mother's inability to step in and stop him, the two boys had left home long ago. Her mother said that she had been a fantastic mother to Astrid in hopes for making amends for the way she had turned her back on her two boys, but she was dying now with the guilt weighing upon her. After her passing, Astrid was devastated and alone. She decided to track her brothers - Sai and Gamble - down. Things were rocky at first. Both boys loathed their mother, and even though they showed Astrid kindness, their refusal to believe anything positive about their mother left a bad taste in her mouth. Despite that, Sai showed her nothing but hospitality, and it didn't take long for Gamble to warm up to her. 

Relationships -

➥ Aria - Astrid met Aria through her brother Gamble. Astrid admired how unique and confident Aria was; she saw Aria's sarcasm as a sign of intelligence and creativity, and even though she balked at the erotic fiction Aria wrote, Astrid found her funny and charming. It certainly wasn't love at first sight, as Astrid struggled with Aria's abrasiveness, but the two gradually came to like each other. When Aria jokingly suggested that Astrid move in with her instead of go back to living alone in Svalbard, Astrid was quick to accept. Now, the two are an odd but loving couple. Everyone is glad to see Aria no longer single. 
➥ Gamble - When Astrid showed up unexpectedly, Gamble was defensive and aggressive towards her, surprising everyone who knew him. But he wanted to protect Sai, and he hated the memories of his father that Astrid's appearance resurfaced. He was slow to lower his guard around her, but she assured him she had nothing but love for him and Sai. Only once he trusted that she was nothing like their father or mother was he willing to open up to her. The two have formed more of a bond than she imagined they would, certainly more of a bond than what she has with Sai. 
➥ Sai - initially, Sai was unwilling to show her any kindness. He was cold but always polite, with unbreakable walls up to keep her from getting close. Whereas Gamble was much more outright angry with Astrid, Sai showed her kindness but with a complete lack of warmth. In his eyes, blood has never equaled family, and simply because they shared genes did not mean he had to like her or even acknowledge her as a sibling. He made that very plain to her. He has been much kinder towards her ever since Gamble came to trust her, but they will never have a meaningful connection.