#tess uchiyama

[thebramblewood]

On the last weekend of summer, the family heads to the drive-in theater. But there's more than just a movie lying in store. August is surprised to find Uncle Alejandro - and he's not alone. He's brought his boyfriend Elías back from Selvadorada with him. At first, August isn't sure what to think of this unexpected interloper. He doesn't like the idea of competing for Alejandro's attention. But Elías seems to understand how close August and Alejandro are and even gives up his seat so the two of them can catch up. As they all settle in for the show, any sense of discomfort quickly vanishes, and they quickly start to feel like one big happy family.

Drive-in theater by @alerionjkeee!

I had a lot of ambitions for this arc of my legacy that didn't end up fully panning out. However, I always envisioned it ending with this scene at a drive-in movie theater. I'm not sure how or why that popped into my head, but it did. I was so nervous about delivering on it, though, that I ended up putting it off, but in the end I'm glad I waited. I have lots of plans percolating for August's future that I can't share much about yet, but I want to pick back up in his teen years. I'm sure there will be some scattered updates in the meantime, though!

[doza3205-blog]

NEIGHBORHOOD photography MASHA MEL styling MONIKA TATALOVIC make up KSENIA GALINA hair TAKUYA UCHIYAMA models EMILY and CLAUDIE @FM stylist assistant TESS VON YOPP

[thebramblewood]

Family pizza and game night! There was one fire early on, but luckily it was contained quickly. While everyone else was freaking out, Naomi snuck a cigarette, but Rav smelled it on her and chewed her out. The pizza was so delicious no one could be bothered to sit before scarfing it down, but they finally made their way to the table for a few rounds of Don't Wake the Llama and Simbles. Naomi was too busy "doing homework" to join in and had her fill of family bonding pretty quickly.

Micah was so into the new pizza oven she autonomously headed for it first thing the next morning. When she finally realized she needed to shower before school, Lavender was on guard to keep the entire house from going up in flames.

[thebramblewood]

What's new on Uchiyama Farm? Micah is busy auditioning for cheer tryouts, that is, if she survives August's cowplant Albert long enough to make it there. Naomi is more rebellious than ever, and her parents have given up on disciplining her. August is cultivating the last oversized crops of the season and losing so many teeth the Tooth Fairy can barely keep up. Tess and Sadie are just trying to squeeze as much fun as they can out of their last weekend before starting school.

[thebramblewood]

The sibling rivalry is starting early with these two.

[thebramblewood]

Sadie (left) and Tess (right) finally grew up! :) I've been playing through this generation so slowly and infrequently that I think they were toddlers for more than a real life year, lol.

[thebramblewood]

Escape from Windenburg: Where Are They Now? (and so what if I just wanted an excuse to take a bunch of cute family portraits?)

Henford-on-Bagley: Rowan and Rav, their oldest twins Naomi and Micah, middle child August, their youngest twins Sadie and Tess, Rowan's immortal feline familiar Sid, and farm dog Lavender. Not pictured: the cow, llama, chickens, and too many oversized crops to count.

Windenburg: Cassie, who's started a small business selling magical ingredients, and Sione, who has finally mellowed out about magic, even if it still bewilders him most days.

Evergreen Harbor: Aarti and Enji, who are both still devoted to maintaining Port Promise's community garden, at least when Aarti can pull Enji away from the fabricator long enough to help out.

Willow Creek: Rowan's sister Sabrina, a social media manager who hardly knows how to be off the job, her husband Lucas, who owns a catering company, and their children Justin, Claudia, and Hana. Justin is top of his class, and the girls have way too many extracurriculars. Their household is a well-oiled efficiency machine.

Mt. Komorebi: Rahul and his wife Ami, both of whom you'll undoubtedly find hitting the slopes whenever they can get away from their day jobs (in business and education respectively), and their children Minori, Noa, and Jun, who are also budding extreme winter sports fanatics.

Selvadorada: Alejandro and his boyfriend Elías, who he met on his first visit and couldn't resist coming back for again and again. When Alejandro isn't traveling, he lives in a camper on Rav and Rowan's farm and helps out with the animals and gardening.

San Myshuno: Lux, who's become a renowned painter, her silvering fox of a husband Camilo, and their son Felix, who live in a spacious Fashion District loft and are perpetually attending gallery openings and dinner parties, even though they'd usually rather stay home.

[thebramblewood]

A few bonus family pictures from the farm. August (middle child and only boy) is going to be this generation's heir, so we'll be following alongside as he experiences a formative Henford-on-Bagley summer very soon!

[thebramblewood]

Angelic vs. fussy. Bet you can't guess which is which.

[thebramblewood]

As anticipated, Tess and Sadie do their best to ignore everything August tells them not to do and end up making a complete mess of the place in only a few hours' time. When their moms return, his older sisters try to make it seem like he's the one who didn't do his job right, even though they were locked in their room until 10 minutes ago.

[thebramblewood]

The next morning, Naomi is on suspiciously good behavior. She even (sort of) helps Rowan bake a pie to enter in the Finchwick Fair. Meanwhile, August takes stock of his oversized crop haul to decide which entry stands the best chance of winning and poor Micah is stuck on babysitting duty while everyone else gets a fun day out.

[thebramblewood]

When it's time to eat, in true rebellious teen fashion, Naomi refuses to join the rest of her family and sulks at another picnic table by herself. But when Rowan conjures up an instantly roaring bonfire with a bit of magic, it finally brings everyone together (until Naomi has to check her phone again).

[thebramblewood]

Family picnic time! Tess and Sadie are actually being well-behaved for once, so August forgives them for their mess-making ways and takes them out into the water. Meanwhile, Naomi and Micah work on their tans and Rowan and Rav are feeling flirty.

[thebramblewood]

As the storm continues, the rest of the day goes relatively smoothly - that is, until Naomi waltzes in way past curfew and gets an earful from both parents. It's not the first time she's shown flagrant disregard for their authority, but if they have anything to say about it, it will be the last. August doesn't stick around to hear the whole argument. Instead, he rescues the newly-hatched chick from the ravaging downpour and settles it in right next to his sleeping bag.

[thebramblewood]

August gets caught red-handed spoiling his dinner with a gigantic root beer float complete with an extra scoop of ice cream on top, so he's tasked with dragging the rest of his siblings to the dinner table. It's punishment because one lives to torment him, one barely speaks to him, and the other two are constantly getting themselves into messes he somehow always ends up taking the blame for. Being the middle child is hard!

[thebramblewood]

After meeting the new chick that hatched while he was gone, August begs his moms to let him have his friends over for a campfire party. They both agree, on the condition he does them a favor first by delivering the week's excess produce and milk to the village grocer. "You might want to take a shower," Rowan calls after him as he rushes off to get the job done as soon as possible, "unless you want everyone within a 50-foot radius to know you definitely spent the weekend in the wilderness."