So this is a little timeline to help understand recent events in the story. Lucie has gone back to a few of the most recent chapters and changed some of the key ages etc... as we went back and worked things out and realised a few of the key ages she had written down, must have been changed. So this is how everything worked...

Mike and Rebecca were seeing each other behind Jonathan's back

Rebecca gave birth to Juliet and then left her with Mike

Mike looked after Juliet for 2 years alone

Estee began seeing Mike behind Arlo's back- Sophie aged 4

Estee refused to look after Juliet - Juliet aged 2

Alissa and Dale adopted Juliet - Juliet aged 2

Arlo found out that Estee was seeing Mike - Sophie aged 6

Arlo and Estee broke up - Sophie aged 6

Estee broke up with Mike & got back with Arlo - Sophie aged 10

Estee had Cameron - Sophie aged 12

Estee had Maisy - Sophie aged 14

Estee cheated on Arlo again - (dates/ages/names etc... unknown for now but to be revealed).

Estee and Arlo got back together - Sophie aged 16

Estee began seeing another man - Sophie aged 24

Estee and Arlo divorced - Sophie aged 25

Juliet found out about Mike and Estee - Juliet aged 24, Sophie aged 26

Sophie Carter

Through all the good and bad that Sophie has done, one thing that stands out and one thing that makes it impossible for me not to like her (even if she does make many mistakes) is how strong she is as a person.

She is very passionate about equality and has been brought up to be a very confident and independent women. There are many reasons why I think she has turned out like this and I am going to share them...

1. Her mum

I guess this is the most obvious. We know her mum is an extremely career focused women and has seemed to know she is capable of anything. Therefore she has really forced these views onto Sophie and empowered her into thinking she can do what she wants and that she doesn't need to rely on anyone else.

I think whether Sophie liked it or not, her mum would have quite literally forced the independence and career woman aspect onto her daughter. From what we know about Sophie's mum she doesn't seem the type to care too much for serious relationships and instead focuses very much on making a living for herself. As much as this can be intimidating, it now fits Sophie's personality quite well.

2. Her mum leaving/not being around

Her mum has not been around for a lot of her childhood too. Firstly because she works a lot and secondly because she has cheated and caused breakups.
I think both of these have an impact on Sophie's personality because with her mum not being around it maybe lead to her playing an important role in her siblings lives. She was maybe forced to grow up early and look after her siblings when her dad was working.

Also, before her siblings were born we know she spent a lot of time with the Lawrence's while her dad was working. Being surrounding by Jack and Connor, both being guys would have probably meant Louise treated them all equally. She doesn't seem the type of person to treat the boys different to Sophie. She is a very empowering woman herself (what with having to look after her own kids alone for a while when Dan left and also because we know she plays a part in the running of the family business now, therefore she is a business woman herself).

3. Sophie's dad

I also think Sophie's dad would have been a huge influence. I can imagine when it was just them two and she was younger, they probably did a lot together that may have been different to a mother/daughter relationship. This probably opened her to more 'male dominated' things that typically girls would have been kept from. Therefore leading her to believe she is capable of anything.

4. Elliot Lloyd

I think maybe Elliot would have played a key part too as he was always very relaxed and let Sophie go ahead and do as she pleased. He was never bothered about being 'the man of the house' and has always had a job that paid less than Sophie and probably relied on Sophie to do things that he probably wasn't sure how to. Due to her dominating personality, how she enjoys being a leader etc... the fact that Elliot was the opposite probably meant she had more opportunities to take charge and be the breadwinner of the house as such.

5. Jessica Montague

We know that Sophie and Jess are both good friends and maybe the fact that Jess has grown up to be a very confident person who doesn't rely on anyone but herself, due to her horrible childhood, she may have influenced Sophie.

Jess probably helps keep Sophie in that mind frame when anything goes wrong and Sophie could possibly look up to Jess? She probably respects the fact she did so much on her own and this continues to make Sophie remain in that mind frame.


These were just a few points I came up with, there are probably more. But I feel like this explains a lot of Sophie's personality and why she is the way she is.

I have more of these to post on the other characters so look out for them :D

Hope you all have a good Good Friday haha!

I thought this post would be fun to discuss which parent each child is most like and why. This is just my opinion and it doesn't mean it's correct, so here it goes...

The Lawrences:

Jack - I think Jack is most like his dad, he is very boisterous and was really into his partying and revolved his life around different girls growing up, much like his dad.

Connor - He seems more like his mum. He is a bit more level headed and seems genuinely sweet, much like Louise. He also seems a bit softer than Jack.


The Carters:

Sophie - She is definitely like her mum. She is career focused, passionate about her own independence and extremely tough minded. She has also done a lot of things like her mum.

(we don't know enough about her siblings to comment)


The Lloyds:

Elliot - More like his dad. He seems very calm and gentle and also quite quiet, all traits that Elliot's dad seems to hold.

Juliet - I think she has a mixture of her mum and dad. She is similar to her mum in that she is very opinionated/judgmental about things. But she is also like her dad because she is quite shy.


The Montagues:

Jess - We don't really know much about Jess' dad but I don't think Jess is like her mum at all... so I would say her dad would have to be who she is most like if we knew more about him. Her mum is too cruel and spiteful for Jess... but maybe Jess resembled her more when she was a gang member.

Jazmine - Definitely her mum. She has all the traits and they even share a name (minus the different spelling, s vs z haha!).

There have been a lot of hints throughout the story on who Juliet's real parents could be and I have gone all spy and been reading into everything. I could be looking into this too much, but I am going to share my thoughts.

1. Real mum = Rebecca Gibson & Real dad = Rusty

Obviously this is where the focus lies at the moment. There is an ongoing question of whether or not Rusty is Juliet's dad. It seems to add up and Jack and Dan are in the process of working it out. The timeline seems to match but it also means she has a sister out there somewhere... this could lead to a very interesting storyline! Also, we found out that Rebecca was Juliet's mum by a scene where she got emotional and spoke to Juliet about it, including photos and that.

2. Juliet's real mum is not Rebecca?

Maybe there is a trick and Rebecca isn't actually Juliet's mum? Maybe those photos are someone else and Juliet isn't actually her daughter but someone else is? Maybe Rebecca adopted Juliet because she lost her own daughter at some point and then lost Juliet too due to her bad background and then she ended up with her mum Alissa now.

If Rebecca isn't Juliet's real mum then that leads me to question who? I was going through the other mum's in the book and was trying to see which would make most sense... then I came up with Estee Carter - Sophie's mum. 

Before you tell me it can't be, just think about it... we know that Sophie's mum and dad broke up when she was younger and that is why there is such a huge age gap between Sophie and her siblings.
I can't remember what age Sophie was, whether it was like 7/8 or 12? I don't know why but I have those ages in my head, they might be completely wrong? It could have been younger. I've been trying to find the chapter where it explains that but I can't find it, so if anyone knows please tell me haha.

But anyway, we know that she cheated on Sophie's dad Arlo and that's why they broke up the first time. We don't know how long she had been cheating on him for? Or if maybe that wasn't the first time she done it?

There is 2 years between Sophie and Juliet so she could have possibly been seeing that same guy from then onwards and got pregnant with Juliet, which could have lead to her putting Juliet up for adoption as she wasn't Arlo's? Then maybe Estee and Arlo sorted out their differences and she stopped seeing whoever Juliet's dad is, only to start seeing him again at a later time. By this time maybe Arlo had enough and that's why they split up the first time.

However, I do think maybe Arlo wouldn't have let Juliet be put up for adoption regardless of who the dad was, so that makes me question this theory.

HOWEVER, at the same time... we know Estee is a bit unreliable and is focused on herself and her career ect... for all we know, she could have gone off at this point and left Arlo alone to bring up Sophie?? And then came back once she was no longer pregnant and had put Juliet up for adoption? She may have thought that Arlo wouldn't care for someone who wasn't his own and she couldn't care for her because she worked a lot.

The other reason why I think this makes sense is because there has been a lot of issues between Sophie and Juliet at the moment. Finding out that they share the same mum would create a whole new issue and maybe this is leading up to that.

3. Juliet's mum works at an adoption service

This theory is incomplete as I haven't yet made the connections BUT, we know her 'mum' works at an adoption service so this could mean that she knows everything?? She might know exactly who Juliet's real parents are and there is a reason why she isn't being open and telling her... I have no yet come up with a reason why this could be, but it's an idea for now...

Amie Edwards

(played by brenda song)

Age: 28

Occupation: Admin Assistant

About her: She is known in the story because she is Aaron Harris' ex. We don't know much about her except that she used to hang around with his group of friends when they were together. That including Sophie, Kaia and the guys from the garage (plus girlfriends).

This profile will be updated as more in the story unfolds about her.

Okay this is number 2 of the exposing characters post... if you missed the first one this is just a fun post to 'expose' the characters and by that I mean, give my true and honest opinions on a few of them.

None of the opinions I give are factual, they are just things that I have picked up from certain events and what I think the true meanings are behind them.

It's things that they themselves probably wouldn't want to admit and the 'ugly' side of their personality.

ENJOY!

Jack Lawrence

We know that Jack's family earns/has a large amount of money and we also know that they are all still extremely humble. However, I feel like it's difficult to have that much money and not revolve your life around it just a little bit?

I think money does mean a lot to Jack and even though his mum worries about him with it, he doesn't mind throwing it around.

In the scene where Jack stopped by Jess' to drop off Mia's teddy and bumped into Wyatt, it was mentioned that Jack purposely parked his car right next to his. Jack knows that he has a better/more expensive car, so he obviously did it on purpose. Not just because he wanted to annoy Wyatt, but maybe also because it makes him feel good... seeing his expensive car in comparison to what other average people have in life.

I think maybe this might have been why he ended up with someone like Kaia when him and Jess broke up. Jess never seemed bothered by the money at all, whereas Kaia comes across as she would get with a guy because of his money.


Aaron Harris

So Aaron and Sophie are now dating and we knew from early on that Aaron liked Sophie a lot! I obviously do think he likes her crazy amounts but I also think being with her is subtly a sense of achievement too.

He knows that some of the guys at the garage are jealous and other guys in general, so maybe being with her was a good chance to show off that 'he won'. I'm not saying that' the only reason he's with her, but maybe he wouldn't have rushed it so much and enjoyed being single for longer. However, because he knew he had a chance with her, he took it before anyone else could. He knew if he didn't take it then Sophie would have probably shrugged it off and slept with a bunch of guys anyway (one of them potentially being from the garage).

Even though we know he's a genuine guy, he may still have that boisterous, competitive mind that makes him want to outdo his friends. I think even his gentleman side doesn't stop him from boasting when he gets the chance, but he probably does it in secret so she doesn't know.

This is just a fun post to 'expose' the characters and by that I mean, give my true and honest opinions on a few of them.

None of the opinions I give are factual, they are just things that I have picked up from certain events and what I think the true meanings are behind them.

It's things that they themselves probably wouldn't want to admit and the 'ugly' side of their personality.

I will start off with Sophie and Juliet and will soon cover more of the characters :)

ENJOY!


1. Sophie Carter

A lot has happened lately with her in regards to guys in general. She seems to involve herself with a lot of them and whether or not they are just 'friends', trouble always follows.

I think she secretly knows the effect she has on them and just how much control she has. I think she knows she's beautiful and knows that she could pretty much get who ever she wanted.

I do think she doesn't mean to be slightly manipulative and doesn't mean to play around with guys heads. However, I think she does notice that it's happening and doesn't go to great extents to stop it.

I also think although she gets angry when guys talk about her in a sexual manner a lot, I don't think it bothers her as much as she lets on. I think she can be just as bad and enjoys the attention and probably would sleep with a bunch of different guys. We know she did when she was younger and who knows, maybe she still does now but is good at keeping secrets?

Sophie also jumps to and from relationships very quickly. I don't know if this is maybe because she never fully 'falls' for the guy as such. She puts on a good act like it's happening but I do truly think she likes her job better and messing around. I think she gets bored easily.


2. Juliet Lloyd

There has been a lot of focus on Juliet's ongoing argument with Sophie lately. It started out with both Jess and Sophie but the Jess part has seemed to fade. I think there is a good reason for this.

I think that Juliet sees Sophie as a threat, something that she doesn't see in Jess so much. Even though Sophie and Jess are so alike, Jess is a mum and lives a slightly different lifestyle to Sophie now.

I think the issue Juliet has with Sophie is that she finds her maybe slightly intimidating?

I also think that maybe she envies her in certain aspects. She seems to have a lot against her at the moment and it's all in relation to Sophie's behaviour. Obviously she is going to stick up for her brother, but I feel like maybe she's making it more a personal thing.

We know that Juliet has never been a huge party animal and has only ever been with Matt and Dylan. Sophie has been with a large number of guys and the list of people she has slept with is probably endless. I think the fact they are so different is why they clash.

I think Juliet either see's her as a disgrace or maybe she is a bit jealous? Maybe she wishes that she had that confidence with guys and in general and the same social life too?

There was also a hint earlier on that one of Sophie's friends likes Aaron... my guess is that it's Juliet. Maybe not because it's him but maybe because she wants what Sophie has.

The second thing about Juliet is in relation to Matt. Juliet and Dylan are trying for a baby and I have a feeling that she is just using Dylan. She has wanted another child for a while and I think because she can't have one with Matt now, she just needs Dylan for the job.

I think maybe she still wants to be with Matt and when the whole drama kicks off with the gang, maybe we might see more of this.



These are just my own thoughts and are not factual. Everyone has an ugly side to their personality even if they are not open about it. This is what I think theirs are. 

As I mentioned in a tweet before, the Bad News Series will eventually be condensed down into one or two smaller books, containing just the key themes and characters.

The books will still be on wattpad to read as they are, but the new book will make it easier for those who don't want to read them all!

Lucie needs to decide on a few things so if you have any opinions on it you can let her know (via DM's/tweets or even on here)...

1. The name of the book!

Should she keep it within the 'Bad...' titles or change it completely?!

2. The characters!

What characters do you think should be included in it? Obviously they probably won't all be - or at least they won't all have their own storyline... they may just get mentioned.

3. Key themes!

Which themes in the books so far do you think should be kept in the new book? Should she add any new ones?

4. The beginning...

Where should the new book start from? Bad News started when Isabella/Sophie/Jack/Elliot/Jess etc... were all roughly 18. Do you think there should be more on their school days or not?


If you have any ideas on these, or all of them - let Lucie know or me and i'll pass it on :)

Opinions are appreciated as she is obviously wanting to do whatever most people ask for.

"Things are going to change and you need to be ready for it." Jay skimmed his eyes across the gang that was sat before him however, they stopped and focused on Matt.

Jay knew mostly everyone was in agreement of what was going to go down but Matt. He knew that the only thing that would get in his way of doing this would be his bestfriend.

"I'm not going to be ready for something so fucking stupid, Jay." Matt bit back, not losing the glaring eye contact he had aimed his way.

He didn't agree with Jay's way of going about things, he didn't see how it was necessary. He would stand there and claim that it was for the benefit of the gang, that it would make things better in the long run but Matt didn't see it.

He knew it was just an act of selfishness, it was just him wanting more power just like Buddy had done. 

Jay had a heart somewhere on the inside but it was so difficult to find. He make acts of kindness every now and then when he felt like it but they were always rare, making it impossible to find what made him human.

"Your brother doesn't plan on stopping and I'm not letting him think we're scared of him." 

"My brother knows you're not scared of him Jay, this has nothing to do with him."

Matt was adamant on fighting back and trying to talk him out of his decisions. This gang had been through so much in their life that he felt as though now was the time for them to take a breather. 

This gang had been their life from childhood yet they were grown up now, it was time to start taking control of how things were and not following in the footsteps of their parents.

"We're not teenagers anymore... we're grown men with people to care about. I can't let my girlfriend suffer due to my own selfishness."

"Abbie will be fine... she has been up until now, that's not going to change." Jay tried to reassure but Matt was having none of it.

"No, don't try and feed me bullshit Jay. We're putting the people we care about in danger by doing this... we're taking it to the point where we won't even be able to save ourselves, little lone those around us too."

"So what... this is you finally making a choice? If put to it, you'd choose your girlfriend over this gang?"

Okay so after a few events and seeing reactions, I wanted to just bring something up that was brought to my attention (and passionately talked about by Lucie - making me just as interested as her haha).

... and that is, the way characters have been perceived differently for doing similar things.

A short while ago there was drama between Sophie, Aaron and Elliot as Sophie was spending a lot of time with Aaron (staying at his house etc...) while she was still in a relationship with Elliot.

It was clear what she was doing was wrong and she rightly got a lot of negative feedback for it.

However, I realised... where was the negative feedback for Aaron?

Why did Aaron get away with it, while people viewed Sophie as being wrong?

Why is Sophie's behaviour a disgrace and the way she treated Elliot so bad... what about Aaron?

He did wrong too. So why does nobody have any negative opinions on Aaron for the way he acted?
It was a two way thing, yet most readers and characters in the book just put the blame on Sophie.

(this isn't me trying to have a go at anyone, it was just something both me and Lucie noticed and thought it was interesting... everyone views things differently and I find it intriguing. If you have a reason for the way you judged the matter and feel like you want to argue back, go head! I'm quite interested to hear).

Maybe you didn't realise you did it?

or maybe you have a logical reason?

It's just interesting to us why all blame was put on one individual while the others got away with it like he did nothing.

Does it come down to gender? And what is seen as 'normal' and 'accepted' for one but not the other.

or is it the fact that Sophie was the one in the relationship, therefore it was her responsibility to be the sensible one?

Hey guys, so with the help of Lucie I have gone through ALL the books from the Bad News Series and managed to make a timeline of important events.

Hopefully the table isn't too complicated for you but I will explain how it works:

1. Along the left hand side of the table are all the names of the main characters.

2. Along the top are the years (just for a guidance) - starting from 2008 and ending with 2016.

3. Under each name and year there is a box that contains the important events from that year, for that particular character.

4. In brackets in each box is the age that character was at that particular time.

So take Jess for example, in 2009 she was 19 years old and met Jack that year.

Hope this helps keep track of when things happened!

If you have trouble viewing this on the blog, then don't worry as I will be posting it onto my twitter too!

@BadNewsFanfic

:D