Characters / After the Jungle Series

After The Jungle — Characters Main

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The Shortmans

General

• A Boy, a Girl, and a Baby Family: Arnold and Helga have three kids—a daughter named Megan (who's the middle child) and two sons named Andy (who's the oldest of the three kids) and Henry (who's the youngest of the three kids). In most of the stories focusing on Arnold and Helga's kids (and their friends/classmates), Andy and Megan are both in elementary school (they're students at P.S. 118, just like their parents were when they were kids) while Henry's only around a year old (so still just a baby) and obviously still too young to going to school.
  • Andy's a 9-year-old 4th-grader—he even has Mr. Simmons as a teacher, just like his parents did when they were in elementary school.
  • Megan's a 5-year-old Kindergartener whose teacher is woman named Miss Polly, who Andy had when he was in Kindergarten.
• Deadpan Snarker: Andy, Megan and Henry can be this—they are Helga's children, so it shouldn't be too surprising.
• Doting Grandparent: Arnold and Helga are shown to be this to their grandkids in "The Golden Years". Arnold even calls his oldest grandson, Phillip ("Phil" for short), "short-man" just like his own grandfather had done while Helga often makes sweets and baked goods for her and Arnold's grandkids.
• Identical Grandson: In "The Golden Years", Arnold and Helga's son, Andy, eventually has a son of his own. Said child also has blonde hair and a football-shaped head, just like his dad and paternal grandfather.
• It Runs in the Family: Arnold and Helga's children share many of their personality traits, for example:
  • Both Andy and Megan can be very aggressive and short-tempered like their mom, but are ultimately very friendly and sweet-natured like their dad.
  • Megan, just like her mom, can also be rather sneaky and mischievous.
• Parental Substitute: Arnold and Helga (the latter especially) are this to Olga's kids (their niece and nephew), Logan and Lisa, which is shown in most detail in "A Perfect Disaster". To go into greater detail:
  • While Olga and Patrick (her husband and the twins' father) really do love and care about the twins and do ultimately want what's best for the twins, between Patrick's stupidity and Olga's perfectionism (and other unrealistic expectations for the twins), Arnold and Helga know that the twins have it rough (not unlike Helga when she was growing up).
  • Arnold and Helga love the twins as if they were their own kids and Helga's protective motherly instincts also clearly extend to them—and overall, the twins have way more in common with their aunt than either of them do with their own parents (particularly their mother). For example: Lisa's a tomboy who's passionate about sports while Logan inherited his aunt's artistic interests/talents (being especially passionate about stuff like drawing and painting).
  • As shown in "A Perfect Disaster", Arnold and Helga try to include the twins in as many of their family activities as possible, help with whatever issues and problems they might be having, and, especially when compared to Olga, are also much more accepting of the twins for who they are and are much more supportive of their interests and hobbies.

Professor Arnold Phillip Shortman

The main character of the original series, he and Helga are now married with three kids and are living in their old hometown of Hillwood. Arnold's now a renowned anthropologist (specializing in Latin American Studies, particularly anything to do with the Green-Eyed People of San Lorenzo) and his primary workplace is Hillwood University (where he obviously works in the anthropology department).

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• The Ace: Arnold has not only become a loving and devoted husband and father, but also a renowned anthropologist, a top college professor and a respected member of his community.
• Affectionate Nickname: Helga still calls him "Football Head" and occasionally "Darling". He sometimes calls her "Honey".
• Crazy Jealous Guy: While he doesn't full-on attack people, Arnold really doesn't like it when people express interest in Helga.
  • In the one-shot called "Jealousy", Arnold goes to confront Brainy after learning that he's has a crush on Helga (who, at this point, is officially Arnold's girlfriend). But Arnold calms down when Brainy assures him that he won't do anything to interfere with their relationship, ultimately saying that he just wants Helga to be happy, even if [Brainy] isn't the guy she ends up with.
  • The closest Arnold ever gets to actually attacking someone is in a chapter of The First Year called "Jealousy", where Arnold demonstrates some of his karate skills to intimidate a guy who was hitting on Helga while they were at Curly and Rhonda's engagement party.
• Childhood Friend Romance: With Helga—they met on their first day of preschool (when they were around three), had a complicated relationship for a large part of their childhood due to Helga bullying Arnold as a way to hide the fact that she had feelings for him, but then got together after Helga helped reunite Arnold with his parents. Arnold proposed to Helga a few months after they graduated college and the couple got married about a year later—and they ultimately had three kids: Andy, Megan and Henry.
• Family Man: And he loves every bit of it.
• Good Parents: He's a very loving and devoted father to his kids.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: He has blonde hair and is a Nice Guy.
• Happily Married: With Helga, obviously—he's as much of a loving and devoted husband as he is a loving and devoted father.
• Jock Dad, Nerd Son: Inverted—while Arnold and Andy both excelled in academics and athletics while they were in school, Andy proves to be a lot more passionate about sports than Arnold (particularly when it comes to karate). Rather than follow in his dad's footsteps, Andy becomes a top professional athlete as an adult, even managing to compete at the Olympics more than once.
• Nice Guy: Just like in cannon.
• Official Couple: With Helga.
• Parents as People: He tries hard to be a good father but still has his quirks.
• Shipper on Deck: Just like his wife, he's very supportive of Andy and Kiara getting together.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: "Never" shows him and Helga being this, though only Rhonda seems to be annoyed really.

Helga Geraldine Shortman (née Pataki)

No longer the brash tomboy she once was, Helga (now an award-winng/top-selling poet/novelist/short story writer) is much calmer and kinder than she was as a kid—though she's still got a bit of temper and is also still very assertive. Aside from being a writer/novelist, Helga's now married to Arnold and is the mother of their three children: Andy, Megan and Henry. Her dream came true!

• Affectionate Nickname: Arnold sometimes calls her "Honey".
• Almighty Mom: While she is definitely nicer as an adult than she was as a kid, Helga still has her temper and no one wants to set it off.
• Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: Unlike how her parents were when she was growing up (and thanks to influence of the women in Arnold's family, particularly his mother and paternal grandmother), Helga has grown up to be a very loving, devoted and (overall) much better parent than either of her own parents were.
• Childhood Friend Romance: With Arnold—they met on their first day of preschool (when they were around three), had a complicated relationship for a large part of their childhood due to Helga bullying Arnold as a way to hide the fact that she had feelings for him, but then got together after Helga helped reunite Arnold with his parents. Arnold proposed to Helga a few months after they graduated college and the couple got married about a year later—and they ultimately had three kids: Andy, Megan and Henry.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: She gets jealous when other women express a romantic interest in Arnold.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Deconstructed with her older sister, Olga.
  • When they were kids, Olga was seen as the more mature and responsible one^note But she had a lot of emotional issues that persisted well into her adulthood) while Helga was seen as the irresponsible one^note But was actually very intelligent and mature for someone her age and arguably much more sensible than her sister.
  • However, as adults, it's become reversed (and combined with Dark Horse Sibling for Helga)—Helga has ultimately become the more successful sister and is even more sensible as an adult while Olga, who's well into 40s in a lot of the stories that she appears in, still clings to her "pipe dream" of becoming a Broadway actress and tends to act like a Womanchild Drama Queen.
• Good Parents: Unlike how her own parents were to her, Helga has ultimately become a very loving and devoted (but also very protective) mother to her kids.
• Happily Married: With Arnold—aside from being a loving and devoted mother, she's also a loving and devoted wife.
• Housewife: Downplayed example—Helga does have a job, but she's able to work primarily from home and only ever goes into Wright & Tate Publishing in person if she absolutely has to.
• Mama Bear: And not just to her own kids, either—Helga's protectiveness also extends to Logan and Lisa (her sister's kids) and to her children's friends as well, particularly Kiara and Kiki (Gerald and Phoebe's daughters).
• My Beloved Smother: A more positive example, in that she's ultimately just trying to look out for her kids and does acknowledge when she's gotten carried away with her protectiveness.
• Not a Morning Person: As shown in "Motherhood", Helga (despite having the same morning routine pretty much ever since she and Arnold got married and moved in together) tends to kinda grouchy when she first wakes up in the morning...at least until she has that first cup of coffee.
• Official Couple: With Arnold.
• Parents as People: She strives to be a good mother but still retain some of her quirks.
• Parental Favoritism: Very much averted—not wanting things to be like how they were when she was a kid, Helga goes to great lengths to make sure that all three of her kids get treated with equal amounts of love and attention.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: In "Helga's Makeover II", Helga is once again tired of people making fun of her for her tomboyish nature. She decides to dress up for her school's annual art show (which is taking place at an art gallery this time around), uses the same dress she wore as "Cecile" and the results is that most boys at the gallery (who initially don't recognize her) end up hitting on her, much to her dismay.
• Shipper on Deck: She was probably the first supporter of Andy and Kiara getting together.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: "Never" shows her and Arnold being this, though only Rhonda seems to be annoyed really.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She is Happily Married to Arnold.
• Supreme Chef: Helga's the primary cook in her and Arnold's family (thanks in part to the influence Arnold's mother and paternal grandmother) and is exceptionally good at it (arguably an even better cook than her sister, Olga). And Helga honestly seems to genuinely enjoy cooking, too.
• Tsundere: Doi! This is Helga we're talking about—while she obviously mellows out a lot as she gets older (particularly after she and Arnold get married and have children), Helga's still pretty aggressive and (unless you have a death wish) it's not a good idea to make her mad.

Andrew "Andy" Phillip Shortman

Arnold and Helga's oldest son/child—he's just as nice as his dad but just as tough as his mom, which has gotten him both in and out of trouble at times.

• The Ace: He is a very athletic boy, well-liked among his peers and gets good grades.
• Academic Athlete: One of the best athletes at his school and he also gets good grades. After graduating high school, he got accepted into Brown University for college, just like his mom had.
• Adorably Precocious Child: Just like his dear old dad.
• Affectionate Nickname: He is often called "Andy-kins" by Helga, "Champ" by Arnold and "short-man" by Phil.
• All-Loving Hero: Despite his temper, he cares very deeply about his family and friends and will do anything to help them.
• Aloof Big Brother: Downplayed, but he can be like this towards Megan.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Very much averted—Andy's well-aware of how skilled he is at martial arts, but he's very humble about it and, outside of practice and competitions, really only ever uses it as a last resort (like in self-defense of in the defense of another person).
• Badass Adorable: He looks almost identical to his dad when he was a kid and is also very athletic (being especially skilled in karate and baseball)—but Andy's a lot more aggressive than Arnold was and isn't afraid to physically fight if he really needs to.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He is a very nice, well-meaning child... but he also possesses a black belt at the age of 9 as well as his mother's temper, which only ever truly sets off when he sees someone trying to hurt his loved ones.
• Big Brother Instinct: He's this towards Megan and Henry, although it's mostly shown with Megan—and for as much of a pest as Megan can be towards him, she and Andy truly do love and care about each other and he won't hesitate to help/protect her when she really needs it.
• Big Man on Campus: Andy is very well-liked among his peers because of his talents and friendly personality.
• Bodyguard Crush: Played With as Andy is not a bodyguard but he is ship-teased with Kiara, is very protective of her and is always defending her against bullies.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: He is very strong and athletic, but also very kind and friendly.
• Brutal Honesty: Unlike Arnold, he doesn't seem to hesitate to tell people what he thinks of them, such as in "Cool Party II", when he called Courtney out for her snobbish behavior and excluding their friends from her party.
• Cannot Spit It Out: By the time he's 12, Andy realizes that he has feelings for Kiara but has trouble confessing them to her.
• Cheerful Child: Andy's a kind, energetic and friendly child.
• Chick Magnet: Two girls have expressed a romantic interest in him: Kiara and Courtney. Bonnie and Maritza briefly made some advances towards him as well.
• Childhood Friend Romance: He and Kiara have known each other and been friends since they were just babies, but they eventually fell in love and started dating as teenagers before ultimately getting married as adults.
• Child Prodigy: Just like his parents, he's very smart for a kid his age. And when it comes to sports (particularly karate), Andy's very strong and athletic for someone his age—in fact, by the time he's only 9, he's already got a black belt and is even a junior karate champion.^note On average, it takes about five years to get a black belt. But if a student trains more frequently and rigorously, you can earn it in as a little as three years.
• Cool Big Bro: Despite getting annoyed by them at times, Andy is a loving brother to Megan and Henry.
• Companion Cube: He has an old teddy bear called "Mr. Teddy," which he has had since he was very young.
• Clueless Chick-Magnet: He is oblivious to Kiara's feelings for him.
• Deadpan Snarker: He's son the of Helga Pataki, for crying out loud! This shouldn't be that surprising.
• Determinator: He's very hard-working and will do virtually anything to make sure his goals are achieved.
• Embarrassing Nickname: His mother calls him "Andy-kins", something that greatly embarrasses him.
• Everyone Has Standards: In "Sixth Grade Girls II", he turns down the advances of Bonnie (the daughter of Connie and her ex-husband, Burt) and Maritza (the daughter of Maria and her ex-husband, Tommy), later explaining that (even if he's not interested in romance yet) he'd rather go out with a nice and smart girl rather than a rude and pushy Brainless Beauty. Andy also claims that he'd rather date someone who's the same age as him rather than an older girl.
• Future Badass: He becomes a professional athlete as an adult and even competed in the Olympics at some point.
• Extremely Protective Child: He is very protective of his family.
• Good Is Not Soft: As nice as his dad, but tough like his mom and he won't hesitate to stand up for himself or others.
• Good Parents: "The Golden Years" shows him as an adult and father to a son of his own, a boy named Phillip (more commonly called "Phil" for short) and he's shown to have a good relationship with him.
• Graceful Loser: In "The Spelling Bee II," he ends up losing the titular competition to his best friend, Kiara—while Andy is kind of bummed about losing, he's happy for his best friend and is glad that he at least lost to someone like her.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: He's got blonde hair like both his parents and can be just as tough and aggressive as his mom was (and still can be), Andy's generally very kind, friendly and polite (just like his dad).
• Innocent Blue Eyes: Andy has blue eyes (which he got from his mother) and is a nice, friendly child.
• Jock Dad, Nerd Son: Inverted—while Arnold's definitely into sports (both as a kid and as an adult) and is still very athletic, Andy proves to be a lot more passionate about sports than his dad. In fact, by the time Andy's only 9, he's already got a black belt in karate and is stated to have been his school's martial arts champion since at least 1st or 2nd-grade. And instead of following in his dad's footsteps, Andy becomes a top professional athlete as an adult—in fact, Andy ends up competing at the Olympics a few times.
• Love Triangle: He is in the center of one between Kiara and Courtney.
• Meaningful Name: As his mom noted the day he was born, "Andrew" means strong, manly and courageous.
• Momma's Boy: While Andy loves his dad and looks up to him a lot, Andy (at times) seems somewhat closer to his mom—for as annoyed/frustrated as he can be by her overprotective ways, it's clear that he loves and respects her very much.
• Nice Guy: Andy is stated to be as nice as his father.
• Oblivious to Love: He doesn't seem to notice Kiara's crush on him.
• Only Known By His Nickname: Andy's real name is "Andrew," but basically the only people who do call Andy by his real name are his parents—and even then, it's usually only if they're upset/angry with him for whatever reason.
• Opposites Attract: He is ship-teased with Kiara—while Kiara tends to be more rational, collected and studious, Andy's more impulsive/energetic and, though he is a good student, not quite as studious as Kiara is.
• Red Is Heroic: He is a Nice Guy and he is fond of the color red.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: He always denies it whenever someone suggests that he and Kiara have feelings for each other.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: He is impulsive and passionate while Megan is collective and sneaky.
• Strong and Skilled: He's very strong and athletic for his age and is one of the top athletes at his school—in fact, he's got a black belt in karate by the age of 9^note On average, it takes about five years to get a black belt. But if student trains more frequently and rigorously, you can earn it in as a little as three years. and is already a regional martial arts champion.
• The Rival: He has several, such as W.J and Rex Smyth-Higgins IV.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Andy idolizes his father, Arnold, very much and wants to make him proud.

Megan Gertrude Shortman

The middle child and only daughter of Arnold and Helga—though certainly very bright and sweet-natured, she can be a bit bratty, and she and Andy sometimes butt heads.

• Affectionate Nickname: She is often called "Meggie-kins", "Princess" and "Angel" by her loved ones.

• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other:
  • Sure, she and Andy fight and can get on each other's nerves, but they still love and care for each other as siblings.
  • While she can get annoyed with Henry sometimes (and is also kind of jealous of how he took her place as the doted-on baby of the family), she does love and care about her younger brother.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Andy thinks she was put on this Earth just to pester him.
• Adorably Precocious Child: Very young and very smart for her age. Must run in the family...
• Benevolent Boss: Megan's main career goal is become a high-ranking business executive (preferably being the CEO of a major corporation) but unlike her maternal grandfather, she has shown herself to be a much nicer and more ethical businessperson. For example, in "Megan's Lemonade Stand",^note The fanfic where Megan starts a lemonade stand with Kiki Johanssen and the Berman-twins, Janet and Mindy Megan's more than willing to give each of her friends a fair share of the profits when the titular stand makes $100 on the first day alone.

• Beware the Cute Ones: She may be cute but she is Helga's daughter and it's not wise to mess with her.
• Bratty Half-Pint: At her worst. She seems to enjoy spying on her brother, using his stuff without permission and generally getting on his nerves.
• Child Prodigy: Just like her parents (particularly her mom), Megan's very intelligent for someone her age.
  • She can already read and write at a 2nd-grade level by the time she starts kindergarten.
  • In various fanfics, particularly in "Megan's Lemonade Stand", Megan's already quite business savvy by the age of 5 (possibly even more so than her maternal grandfather ever was). She even gives some business advice to Morgan Jones, the son of Oskar Kokoshka's ex-wife, Suzy, in "Reunion at the Boarding House".^note It's stated that Morgan's planning on becoming a professional chef with his own restaurant.
• Companion Cube: She is almost always seen with her favorite doll, which she calls "Mimi".
• Daddy's Girl: While she's obviously very close to both of her parents and has a good relationship with them, Megan's shown to be closer to her father and loves playing with him. Arnold (who loves all of his kids equally) in turn adores and dotes on her.
• Deliberately Cute Child: She knows just how cute she is and uses it like a weapon.
• Drama Queen: Just like her mother and her aunt, Megan's got some shades of this, particularly as a teenager (as shown in "Tattoo"^note Where Megan's now 14 and is a high school freshman and "Megan Meets Her Match"^note Where Megan's now 18 and is off at college).
• Dumb Blonde: Subverted. Megan may often act childish and naive, but she is VERY smart and can be scarily competent for a child.
• Family Eye Resemblance: She has green eyes just like her father, Arnold.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Downplayed between her and Andy, as she's the younger and spoiled foolish to Andy's older and somewhat more responsible.
• Genki Girl: She has her moments.
• Girls Love Stuffed Animals: "The Spirit of Giving" states that she has many toys and stuffed animals in her room.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: An inversion of how her mom was as a kid. While Megan does have some tomboyish traits, she's still way more of a Girly Girl than Helga ever was, being into stuff like dolls and tea parties (and liking a show called Miss Fluffy Happy Valley).
• Good Is Not Nice: Zigzagged as Megan tends to act a little spoiled at times and can be annoying to her older brother, but she is a good person at her core.
• Guile Heroine: She is shown to be ambitious and manipulative at times, but her heart is in the right place.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Kind of. She can be a little spoiled and bratty, but she deeply loves her family, is close to her friends and many instances show that she was raised right.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: She's best friends with Gerald and Phoebe's youngest daughter, Akiko "Kiki" Johanssen, with their friendship mirroring the one that their parents had when they were kids (and still have even as adults).
• Hidden Depths: The one-shot "The Golden Years" shows that she grows up to become a businesswoman.
• Intergenerational Rivalry: She seems to have a bit of rivalry with the Jolly Olly Man.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Okay, "Jerk" is too strong of a word, but Megan can be impatient and even bratty at times. However, the rest of the time, she is shown to be a sweet child who loves her friends and family very much.
• Like Mother, Like Daughter: She seems to take after her mother in both intelligence and mischievousness, although Megan is much tamer and openly friendlier to those around her.
• Little Miss Snarker: She's the daughter of Helga Pataki, what else were you expecting?
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: A contrast to how her mother was The Bully. Megan's certainly spoiled and wants things to go her way, but she does care about her loved ones and seems to get along with her peers. Her rival, Roxanne Smyth-Higgins, is a more straight-up example of an Alpha Bitch.
• Mouthy Kid: She can be this at times.
• Not So Above It All: While she may be Wise Beyond Her Years, she is still a little kid who loves tea parties, dolls and believes in ghosts.
• Pink Means Feminine: Just like her mom, pink appears to be Megan's favorite color—she's also way more of a Girly Girl than her mom ever was as a kid.
• Serial Romeo: In great contrast to her parents and godparents (particularly her mother), Megan becomes this once she starts dating.
• Smitten Teenage Girl: As shown in "Tattoo" and detailed in "Megan Meets Her Match", Megan becomes this as she gets older—it's stated in "Tattoo" that she 'falls in love' with practically every single hot guy she sees, and it's revealed in "Megan Meets Her Match" that she had numerous boyfriends throughout high school.
• Spoiled Sweet: While Andy sees her as a Spoiled Brat, and Megan can definitely be rather demanding and self-centered at times, she's a good person who cares about her friends and family, and it's clear that she was raised right.
• Sweet Tooth: Especially when it comes to anything her mom makes (particularly if it's pie or chocolate chip cookies).
• Tomboyish Ponytail: Played with—Megan usually wears her hair tied back in a ponytail and she's definitely got some tomboyish traits (as noted above), but she's still pretty girly.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Just like her parents, Megan's very smart and mature for someone her age—she's also very ambitious, and her main career goal is to become the head of her own company (preferably a media corporation of some kind). And by even the time she's just a 5-year-old kindergartener, she's already quite business savvy.

Henry Miles Shortman

Arnold and Helga's youngest son/child and Andy and Megan's younger brother.

• Adorably Precocious Child: He's an adorable baby and future fics show that he becomes as smart as his siblings.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Megan sees him as this at times.
• Cheerful Child: He is usually a very calm and happy baby.
• Deadpan Snarker: Future-set fanfics such as "Tattoo" and "Megan meets her match" imply that he becomes one. Shouldn't be too surprising, since he is Helga's son after all.
• Family Eye Resemblance: He's got green eyes just like his older sister and their dad.
• Freudian Trio: Henry is the Id to Andy's Ego and Megan's Superego, due to still being just a baby and he mostly just giggles, cries and cooes.
• Hidden Depths: "The Golden Years" reveals that, as an adult, Henry's off at medical school with the intentions of becoming a doctor.
• Innocent Prodigy: In "Henry's Christmas", it's shown that by the age of 3, Henry is already very smart for his age and is implied to read at a more advance age level. All the same, he is still a child who still believes in Santa Claus and has child-like interests such as loving a show called "Wally Jr".
• Kids Shouldn't Watch Horror Films: As noted by Helga in "A Scary Movie," scary movies don't agree with Henry—she brings up the time when Henry saw a movie called Killer Vegetables from Space III and was so freaked out by it that he avoided onions for at least a month afterwards.
• Mature Younger Sibling: The future-fics in this series show that he becomes one, particularly compared to his older sister, Megan, who (though still very smart and mature for someone her age) becomes a boy-crazy Drama Queen as a teenager.
• The Baby of the Bunch:
  • Figuratively — He's the youngest of Arnold and Helga's kids.
  • Literally — In most of the stories he appears or is mentioned in, he's still technically just a baby.
• The Speechless: For the most part, but it's justified—Henry's only a year old in most of the stories he appears in, so while he can talk (especially in the more recent fanfics), it's mostly just very simple words (like "Mama" and "Dada") or baby gibberish.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Implied.

The Johanssens

Gerald Johanssen

Arnold's best friend who is married to Helga's best friend, Phoebe, with whom he has two daughters named Kiara and Akiko (more commonly called "Kiki" for short). Gerald's now a successful businessman and is also the godfather to Arnold and Helga's kids.

• Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Gerald can be this for his daughters, though it's mostly just shown with Kiara—one of Kiara's "dislikes" is Gerald's tendency of babying her. Also, when Andy and Kiara first met as babies, Helga notes that Andy might have a crush on Kiara and suggests that they might fall in love and get married as adults (just like Arnold/Helga and Gerald/Phoebe did), Gerald immediately claims his daughter isn't ready for that sort of thing.
• Childhood Friend Romance: Just like Arnold and Helga, he and Phoebe are this.
• Good Parents: He is a very loving and devoted (if overprotective) father to his daughters.
• Happily Married: To Phoebe.

Phoebe Johanssen (née Heyerdahl)

Helga's best friend who is married to Arnold's best friend, Gerald, with whom she has two daughters named Kiara and Akiko (more commonly called "Kiki" for short). She's also the godmother to Helga and Arnold's kids.

• Brainy Brunette: As an adult, Phoebe's the head scientist for a big lab/engineering corporation based in the Hillwood-area.
• Childhood Friend Romance: Just like Helga with Arnold, Phoebe's this with Gerald.
• Good Parents: She's a very loving and devoted (if overprotective) mother to her daughters.
• Happily Married: To Gerald.
• My Beloved Smother: At least according to her oldest daughter, Phoebe can be like this—in "Overprotective," Kiara tells Andy that she considers his mom's overprotective ways to be far tamer than those of her own mother. For example, Kiara reminds Andy of the time that the two of them wanted to camp out in the backyard at Kiara's house, but Phoebe (worried that the backyard would be too cold for them) made them camp out in the living room instead.

Kiara Satomi Johanssen

Gerald and Phoebe's oldest daughter and Andy's best friend since the two of them were just babies.

• Affectionate Nickname: Gerald often calls her his "Baby Girl" and Andy sometimes calls her "Kia".
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: A friendlier example than most, but Kiara's a brunette and is very smart and mature for someone her age.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She's a very kind and intelligent girl, but she's not afraid to speak her mind or stand up for herself (and others).
• Black and Nerdy: She's very intelligent and happens to be (half) black—but compared to other examples of this trope, Kiara's fairly popular and is well-liked among her peers.
• Book Smart: Just like her mom, Kiara's very intelligent and is an excellent student (academically speaking). She's also widely considered to be the smartest kid in school.
• Brainy Brunette: Just like her mom, Kiara's very intelligent and has black hair like both of her parents do (although it's curly like Gerald's instead of straight like Phoebe's).
• Childhood Friend: With Andy.
• Childhood Friend Romance: She and Andy have known each other and been friends since they were just babies—they started dating as teenagers and end up getting married as adults.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Kiara's secretly in love with Andy and tends to get jealous whenever other girls express a romantic in him.
  • After Courtney Gammelthorpe develops a (rather obsessive) crush on Andy about halfway through elementary school, she and Kiara develop a bit of a rivalry (due to Kiara also having a crush on him).
  • When Andy reveals that Bonnie and Maritza (both of whom are 6th-graders) tried asking him (a 4th-grader) out on a date, Kiara expressed some jealousy but calmed down after Andy explained that he turned them down.
• Cute Bookworm
• Daddy's Girl: While she has a close and loving relationship with both of her parents, it's clear that Kiara adores her father.
• Deadpan Snarker: She has her moments.
• Extracurricular Enthusiast: Even in elementary school, Kiara's part of numerous different extracurricular activities—aside from baseball, she practices fencing, takes violin lessons and is captain of the debate team. It's also revealed in "Protect" that Kiara takes (or at least used to take) ballet lessons.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible to Kiki's Foolish—downplayed, but Kiara's generally the more mature one of the Johanssen-sisters, especially since Kiki (just like Megan towards Andy) tends to act kind of bratty and self-centered towards her sister.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: Kiara's favorite color is purple, she enjoys playing the violin, wears skirts and is very well-mannered. She's also very athletic, enjoying playing baseball and other sports with her friends.
• Go-Getter Girl: She's just as intelligent as her mother, is as levelheaded as her father, gets good grades at school and as revealed in "The Golden Years," she becomes a doctor as an adult.
• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Purple appears to be her favorite color—for example, her main outfit (as pictured above) is predominantly purple.
• It Runs in the Family: She's got her mom's intelligence and her dad's levelheadedness.
• Love Triangle: With Andy and Courtney.
• Nice Girl: She is kind, patient and a loyal friend to Andy.
• Only Sane Woman: Just like her parents were to Andy's parents.
• Opposites Attract: She's ship-teased with Andy—while Kiara's very studious, calm and collected, Andy's typically more impulsive/energetic and, though certainly a good student with a high GPA, isn't quite as studious as she is.
• Patient Child Hood Love Interest: She is implied to have feelings for her best friend, Andy. The fic "The Golden Years", shows that they eventually marry and have a son together.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Kiara's in love with Andy.
• The Smart Girl: Just like her mom.
• Teen Genius: A downplayed example—Kiara is an excellent student (having a 4.0-GPA) and widely considered to be the smartest kid in school.
• Uptight Loves Wild: "Uptight" is pushing it, but Kiara's secretly in love with Andy and, as noted under "Opposites Attract," she's not as impulsive or short-tempered as him, being generally much more mature and reserved.

Akiko "Kiki" Johanssen

Gerald and Phoebe's youngest daughter, Kiara's sister and Megan's best friend since they were babies.

• Annoying Younger Sibling: Just like Megan to Andy, Kiki can be this to Kiara.
• Brainy Brunette: She's very smart (especially for someone her age) and she's got black hair—also, as shown in Megan's Rival (the one-shot that shows how Roxanne Smythe-Higgins met Megan and her friends), Kiki's hinted to care a lot about school. And in "Megan Meets Her Match," it's revealed that she was valedictorian when she, Megan and the Berman-twins were in high school.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish to Kiara's Responsible—Kiki tends to act kind of bratty towards her older sister and is generally the more energetic/impulsive one of the two.
• Girlish Pigtails: While her older sister and her best friend wear their hair tied back in ponytails, Kiki usually wears her hair tied back in a pair of pigtails.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: She's best friends with Megan Shortman, Arnold and Helga's middle child/only daughter, and their friendship mirrors the one that their parents had when they were kids (and still have as adults).
• Only Known By Her Nickname: Her real name is actually "Akiko," but Phoebe appears to be the only person to regularly call her by her real name—everyone else (including her sister and their dad) calls her "Kiki".
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Downplayed, but Kiki's generally shown to be the more energetic and impulsive one of her and Kiara (and is also a bit brattier and more self-centered). Also, as shown in "The Return of Four-Eyed Jack," Kiki's shown to have a strong belief in ghosts and the supernatural while Kiara doesn't really believe in that sort of stuff.

Olga and Her Family

Olga Sherman (née Pataki)

Helga's older sister, making her Arnold's sister-in-law and Andy, Megan and Henry's aunt—Olga's also the mother of Logan and Lisa, Arnold and Helga's nephew and niece. After trying and failing to pursue a career as an actress (even moving all the way to New York City to audition for Broadway), Olga went back to working as a schoolteacher to help support her family. By time Andy and Megan are in 4th-grade and Kindergarten, respectively, at P.S. 118, Olga's become a 5th-grade teacher at that same school. Two of Olga's students are Wolfgang Wentworth Junior (better known as "W.J.") and his best friend/sidekick, Edgar.

• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: She can be this to Logan and Lisa.
• Dating What Daddy Hates: Olga falls in love with (and eventually marries) Patrick Sherman, an aspiring musician who has trouble holding down a job and whom her parents can't stand (though Miriam seems somewhat more willing to put up with Patrick than Bob is).
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Olga Pataki's a destruction of The Ace, Determinator, and Ignored Expert. In the original series, she was a smart, beautiful, and popular young woman with many viable talents and achievements. Everyone (including Helga) expected Olga to have a bright future ahead of her. However, she was also shown to be an extraordinarily insecure and neurotic person whose happiness was a mask she put on to deal with the pressure her parents (particularly her dad) put on her. It was also shown that she really could be rather childish and unable to handle stress when faced with real problems. Her personality flaws and immaturity prevented Olga from becoming successful as an adult like everyone expected, since she never bothered to address or work through her issues, as shown in the following examples:
  • A few years after graduating college, Olga quits her job as a teacher to pursue a career as an actress (specifically for theater), even moving to New York City at one point to audition for Broadway. Due to excelling at pretty much everything else she had ever done at that point, Olga presumably figured that she'd just as easily succeed at becoming an actress. Unfortunately for Olga, it soon becomes apparent that she just doesn't have what it takes to make it as a professional actress—and not being used to failure, she spent years trying to achieve her dreams, even though it's obvious to pretty much everyone around her that (even without taking age into consideration) Olga's talent just doesn't measure up.
  • After marrying Patrick Sherman, a failed rockstar who has trouble holding down a job, and having two children named Logan and Lisa, Olga eventually had to move back to her old hometown of Hillwood; she went back to working as a schoolteacher and eventually became a 5th-grade teacher at P.S. 118. However, while Olga genuinely loves her children, she is making the same mistakes her parents made in trying to make them perfect. This has ultimately led to Olga having a distant relationship with her kids (particularly her daughter Lisa).
  • However, things do get better for Olga in the last chapter of "A Perfect Disaster", after talking with Helga. Helga points out her sister's faults and that she was becoming a bad parent like their father. Olga resolves to become a better mother to the twins, accepting them for who they are, while working on her marriage to Patrick.
• Determinator: Deconstructed—even by the time her oldest nephew's in 4th-grade (and at this point, Olga's well into her 40s), Olga still has "delusions" (as Helga calls it) of becoming an actress, to the point of where she and her family make periodic trips to New York City so she can audition for Broadway. However, even without taking Olga's age into consideration, it's clear to everyone (except her and maybe her husband) that Olga just doesn't have what it takes to make it big. And by the events of "A Perfect Disaster," it's clearly taken its toll on not just her, but her family as well. Olga never tried her hand at other fields where she could've had more luck, given her accomplishments.
• Education Mama: Olga becomes one towards her twins, Logan and Lisa—it doesn't help that she's also a schoolteacher.
• Feminine Mother, Tomboyish Daughter: Olga's the Feminine Mother to Lisa's Tomboyish Daughter. While Olga really does love and care about her daughter, she and Lisa are often at odds due to Olga trying to raise Lisa (and Logan) like how her own parents (Bob especially) had raised her and expecting her kids to be little carbon copies of her.
• Fourth-Date Marriage: Unlike Helga with her husband^note Arnold and Helga have known each other since their first day of preschool, started dating during their first year of middle school and got married about a year after they graduated college, Olga didn't meet Patrick until she was in her late-20s and, as revealed in "A Perfect Disaster," they wound up getting married after only six months of dating.
• Giftedly Bad: From what can be gathered on Olga's "acting abilities" through FP11's various fanfics, it sounds like they're mediocre at best (and that's just putting it politely). But even by the time she's well into her 40s, Olga refuses to give up on her dream of becoming actress, convinced that she's a star just waiting to be discovered despite all the evidence to the contrary.
• High Hopes, Zero Talent: Olga's an example of how she's got plenty of other viable talents and achievements but pursuing a career as an actress was the one area where she ever experienced true failure. Even when it's totally obvious to everyone around her (with the possible exception of her husband, Patrick) that Olga simply isn't that good of an actress, she insists on trying for decades.
• No Accounting for Taste: Helga describes her brother-in-law as "some hack of a wannabe rock star" and Patrick is definitely kind of a Lazy Bum—in fact, this is something Helga takes note of in "A Perfect Disaster," basically noting to her sister that if she's that unhappy in her marriage to Patrick, then she should get a divorce.
• Parents as People: Olga really does love and care about the twins and honestly just wants what she feels is best for them—but, as Helga notes in the verbal beatdown she gives to her in "A Perfect Disaster", Olga's going about it the wrong way by doing to the twins what Bob and Miriam (Bob especially) had done to the two of them when they were growing up.
• Pursue the Dream Job: Sometime when Helga was in middle school, Olga decided to try pursuing a career as a theater actress, even going so far as to move all the way to New York City to audition for Broadway. Unfortunately (for Olga), it soon becomes apparent that she just doesn't have what it takes to act on stage (and on another note, her parents didn't approve of her leaving her promising career as a teacher to do so). After getting married, having children and moving back to her old hometown of Hillwood, Olga's forced to return to working as a teacher to help support her family (she gets a job at P.S. 118, where she's become a 5th-grade teacher by the time her nephew, Andy, is in 4th-grade).
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: She receives an epic verbal beatdown from Helga in "A Perfect Disaster," during which Helga calls Olga out on pretty much everyone single one of her faults, particularly in how she's doing to the twins what their own parents had done to them when they were growing up and not being more accepting of Logan and Lisa for who they are.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Two major examples for Olga —
  • 1.) For all her "perfect" achievements, Olga's been proven to have poor judgement as well as being rather naïve and even a little narcissistic at times. And as seen in episodes like "Student Teacher"^note (the one where Olga becomes a student teacher in Helga's 4th-grade class) and "Big Sis"^note (where Olga joins a "Big Brothers & Sisters" style organization and becomes a "Big Sis" to Lila Sawyer), while Olga's very academically and socially gifted, she still has a lot to learn about the real world and real relationships. The fact that, deep down, she's an extremely insecure and neurotic person just worsens things when faced with the actual stress she tries to avoid. And since she is technically an adult now (as well as living on her own), she now has to take care of it herself instead of going to her parents (or her sister) for help. And even for the times that she does go to them for help, they (particularly Helga) do it more for the twins' sake than for Olga's sake.
  • 2.) Tying into High Hopes, Zero Talent from above—though there have plenty of celebrities who didn't "make it big" until at a later point in their lives, it's still a pretty rare occurrence. And even without taking Olga's age into consideration, it's clear that she just isn't that good an actress. To paraphrase what Helga tells Arnold in Babysitting^note (a chapter from The First Year, where the couple babysits Logan and Lisa), "[Olga's] well into her 30s, she's married with children, she can't cry on cue and show business itself is already harsh enough on young and fresh actors as it is."
• Waiting for a Break: As noted above, Olga still hasn't given up her dream of being an actress even by the time she's well into her 40s^note and, at this point, has been forced to go back to working as a teacher to help support her family—by the time Megan (her niece) starts Kindergarten at P.S. 118, Olga's now a 5th-grade teacher at that same school. But even now, Olga still auditions for various acting jobs, even taking periodic trips to New York City so she can audition for roles on Broadway.
• Womanchild: Crosses over with Drama Queen. Olga's at least 12 years older than Helga (and is well into her 40s in a lot of the stories that she appears in), but still has a tendency of acting like this—it's one of the things that Helga calls her out in her verbal beatdown of Olga in "A Perfect Disaster".
  • Helga outright claims in Babysitting (from The First Year) that being a Drama Queen is the closest Olga will probably ever get to becoming an actress.

Patrick Sherman

Olga's husband and the father of Logan and Lisa—this makes him Helga's brother-in-law (and Arnold's too, since their wives are sisters) and the uncle-thru-marriage of Andy, Megan and Henry.

• Fourth-Date Marriage: It's revealed in "A Perfect Disaster" that he and Olga got married after only six months of dating.
• Lazy Bum: Bob sees him as this—and to be completely honest, Bob's not entirely wrong.
• Lazy Husband: He can be this to Olga, as he struggles to hold down a steady job, which leaves her as the primary breadwinner.
• Opposites Attract: He's a lazy musician who's married to Olga.
• Pet the Dog: For all of his flaws, he really does love and care about his wife and their children—and in the case of the twins, Patrick's generally more accepting of them for who they and doesn't seem to have as distant of a relationship with them as Olga does. Helga admits to Olga in "A Perfect Disaster" that the main reason she's willing to put up with Patrick is because of his relationship with the twins.
• The Unfavorite: An in-law's example—Bob and Miriam (the former especially) have always made it clear that they prefer Arnold over Patrick (although Miriam's generally more willing to put up with Patrick than Bob is).
• What Does She See in Him?: It's a wonder as to how he and Olga are still together, even by the time their kids are practically teenagers—in fact, it's one of the things that Helga calls her sister out on in "A Perfect Disaster".

Logan Robert Sherman and Lisa Miriam Sherman

The fraternal twin children of Olga and her husband, Patrick, making them Arnold and Helga's niece and nephew and Andy, Megan and Henry's cousins. Even though they're Olga's kids (and look almost identical to her), they're much more similar to their Aunt Helga when it comes to their personalities and interests/hobbies.

• Feminine Mother, Tomboyish Daughter: Lisa's the Tomboyish Daughter to Olga's Feminine Mother. While Olga really does love and care about Lisa, the two are often at odds due to Olga basically doing to Lisa what her own parents (Bob especially) had done to her, and expecting Lisa to be a little carbon copy of her.
• Half-Identical Twins: Combined with Strong Family Resemblance—boy-girl twins like Logan and Lisa are always fraternal, but they're stated to look pretty much identical to each other. And overall, they look like younger versions of Olga, with the only real physical differences being hair and eye colors—while Olga has blonde hair and blue eyes, Logan and Lisa both have dark brown hair (which they got from their dad) and green eyes.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Combined with Polar Opposite Twins—Logan and Lisa share some of the same interests (like a common interest in baseball) and they both take more after Helga when it comes to their general personalities, they each take more after different aspects of Helga's personality.
  • Logan's a little meeker than his sister and takes more after Helga's gentler, more artistic side—Logan's really into art (such as drawing, painting and sculpting) and his artistic idol is his aunt and uncle's old friend, Thaddeus Gammelthorpe (formerly known as "Curly").
  • Lisa (though not a bully like her Aunt Helga was as a kid) is the more aggressive twin and takes more after Helga's sports-loving/tomboyish side—Lisa's a lot more passionate about sports than her brother, especially when it comes to baseball.

Other Relatives

Phillip "Phil" and Gertrude "Gertie" Shortman

Arnold's paternal grandparents (the parents of his dad, Miles) and the great-grandparents of Andy, Megan and Henry—still alive and just as wild as ever, even at the age of 105.

• Cloudcuckoolander: Phil and Gertie are still this, more so in the latter's case.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Phil still serves as this to his wife.
• Cool Old People: Just like in canon, Phil and Gertie are this.
• Doting Grandparent: Phil and Gertie are still very close to their grandson and his wife, but they're also close to Arnold and Helga's kids (who're technically their great-grandchildren). They even act like this (to some extent) to Logan and Lisa Sherman, who aren't even related to them in any way.
• Never Mess with Granny: Even at the age of 105, Gertie's still this—both she and her husband are described as being in very good shape for people their age, with Gertie even helping to train her oldest great-grandson in karate. Helga's dad, Bob, notes in "Spelling Bee II" that, despite being over the age of 100, Gertie can still hit way harder than most people who're 1/5 of her age.
• Shipper on Deck: Just like in canon, Phil and Gertie are very supportive of Arnold's relationship with Helga and were thrilled when the two got married.

Miles and Stella Shortman

Arnold's parents, Helga's in-laws and the paternal grandparents of Andy, Megan and Henry.

• Doting Grandparent: They're very close to Arnold and Helga's kids, to whom they're very doting and affectionate towards.
• Good Parents: Even as adults, they're clearly still very close to their son and are involved in his life.
• Happily Married: Just like in cannon.
• Parental Substitute: They serve as this to Helga—even if Helga's relationship with Bob and Miriam (her actual parents) does improve as she gets older, Helga clearly feels closer to her husband's parents than she does to her own parents. Miles and Stella also clearly love and care Helga as if she was their own daughter.
• Shipper on Deck: Just like Phil and Gertie, they're very supportive of Arnold's relationship with Helga and were thrilled when the two got married—even before the two had gotten married, Miles and Stella have always made it clear that they love and care about Helga as if she was their own daughter.
• The Klutz: Even by the time he and Stella have become grandparents, he can still be rather klutzy.

Robert "Big Bob" and Miriam Pataki

Olga and Helga's parents, which not only makes them the maternal grandparents of Logan, Lisa, Andy, Megan and Henry, but the father-in-law and mother-in-law of Patrick Sherman (Olga's husband) and Arnold Shortman (Helga's husband). Big Bob's still pretty temperamental, but he's mellowed a lot since the original series. And Miriam's no longer an alcoholic, having long since gone sober (at the very least, since Helga was in high school).

• Dating What Daddy Hates: Neither Bob nor Miriam are particularly fond of Olga's husband, Patrick—they've both made it clear that they greatly prefer Arnold over him (although Miriam is comparably more willing to put up with Patrick than Bob is). Bob especially despises Patrick and the two often argue when they're together.
• Doting Grandparent: Surprisingly, both Bob and Miriam have a very good relationship with all five of their grandkids and are generally very affectionate towards them, including Helga's kids (which is part of what made Helga give her parents another chance).
• Heel Realization: In "The Spelling Bee II", after Bob is exposed for attempting to bribe the competitors of four separate contests just to hedge the chances in the favor of his children (and grandson in this specific case) and called out for having no faith in his family, he actually apologizes out loud and promises to better himself.
• Riches to Rags: As shown in The Jungle Movie, due to Bob stubbornly clinging to pagers instead of upgrading to something like cellphones, he basically bankrupted himself (leaving his family with major financial issues for many years). While he, Miriam and Helga eventually moved out of his old beeper store, they lived in a cheap/rundown apartment for a few years. Things seem to be a little better by the time Helga leaves for college (her family's living in a regular house instead of an apartment) and in "A Perfect Disaster," it's revealed that Bob liquidated a chunk of his retirement fund to buy a two-bedroom house (presumably, this is the place that Helga was living in during her senior year of high school).

Arnie, Lila and AJ

Arnie is Arnold's weird cousin (their moms are sisters), making him Helga's cousin-in-law and the first cousin-once-removed for Andy, Megan and Henry—Arnie ended up marrying Arnold's former crush (and Helga's former love rival), Lila Sawyer, and the end up having a son named Arnie Junior (more commonly called "AJ" for short), the second cousin of Andy, Megan and Henry (and the first cousin-once-removed of Arnold).

• Abhorrent Admirer: Prior to officially getting (back) together with Lila, Arnie had a crush on Helga—she's clearly disgusted by Arnie and makes it clear that she prefers Arnold. Thankfully, Arnie backs off after seeing that she and Arnold really are a couple.
• Cheerful Child: AJ's this—when it comes to his overall personality, he definitely takes more after his mom than his dad, which Arnold and Helga are thankful for, because for as annoyed as they are by both Arnie and Lila's mannerisms, they at least find Lila's to be much more tolerable than Arnie's.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Arnie's still just as weird and creepy as an adult as he was as a kid, and AJ clearly takes after his dad in this regard. While Arnie (apparently) outgrew some of the weird habits he had as a kid, his son has inherited some of his eccentricities (like collecting rocks or keeping a pile of dirt in his sock and claiming that it's a good luck charm).
• Country Cousin: Arnie, Lila and AJ live on the same farm that Arnie grew up on and, during Arnold and Helga's adulthood, the family comes to visit them once every few months.
• Good Luck Charm: In "Another Weird Cousin," Andy claims that AJ keeps a pile of dirt in a sock and insists that it's a good luck charm.
• Good Parents: Lila, at least, is shown to be a very loving and devoted mother to her and Arnie's son.
• Hidden Depths: AJ's shown to have inherited his mom's interested in music and theater. And according to "Megan Meets Her Match" (where Megan's 18 and now off at college), AJ (who's at least 22 at this point) got a job as a theater director.
• The Pollyanna: Even as an adult, Lila's still this—and AJ clearly takes after his mom in this regard.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Arnie and Lila are this, respectively.
• What Does She See in Him?: It's a mystery as to how Lila Sawyer ended up falling in love (and later marrying) Arnie.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: In "Weird Cousin II," Arnie reveals that he was aware that Arnold and Helga had faked being in a relationship the last time he saw them—however, this trope comes into play when it turns out that Arnie thinks that Helga did it to make [Arnie] jealous (mistakenly thinking that Helga's romantically interested in him).

Other Characters

Courtney Gammelthorpe

Courtney is Rhonda and Curly's daughter, who has an obvious (and rather obsessive) crush on Andy, much to Kiara's annoyance.

• Abhorrent Admirer: Combined with All Love Is Unrequited—Courtney has an all-too-transparent crush on Andy and never bothers trying to hide it (and she's apparently been like that since 3rd-grade). Unlike a lot of examples, Courtney's not ugly and Andy considers her to be one of his closest friends—but just like Lila was towards Arnold when they were kids, Andy continuously reminds Courtney that he only likes her as a friend and not in a romantic way.
• All Love Is Unrequited: Just like Lila towards Arnold when they were kids, Andy continuously reminds Courtney that he only likes her as a friend.
• Drama Queen: Just like her mom.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: Just like her mother, she can be dramatic and is a Girly Girl Fashionista, but she's also into playing sports with her friends.
• It Runs in the Family: Physically, Courtney looks enough like Rhonda to the point of where she may as well be Rhonda's clone—but personality-wise, she's more of a mix of her parents. Like, she inherited Rhonda's feminine/flamboyant nature as well as her love of fashion and her snobby/dramatic attitude—but Courtney can also rather eccentric, like her father, Thaddeus (albeit in a more toned down way compared to her dad).
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: Implied.
• Love Triangle: Just like Kiara, Courtney has a crush on Andy—the only difference is that Courtney makes her romantic interest much more obvious than Kiara does.
• Platonic Life-Partners: Has this dynamic with her best friend/godbrother, Nate (Nadine's son).
• Spoiled Sweet: Again, implied.
• The Fashionista: Again, implied. In "The Spirit of Giving," both she and her mother bought lots of new clothes for Christmas.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: She's on the receiving end of one in the second chapter of "Cool Party II". Andy (her crush) calls her out on it not inviting Kiara and the rest of their friends to her titular party and for acting like such a snob to them (particularly Kiara) and refuses to go to her party.

Sylvia, Adam, Janet and Mindy Berman

The four children of Harold and Pattie Berman (née Smith). Sylvia's the oldest of the kids, Adam's the second oldest and Janet and Mindy are twins who're the youngest of the four kids.

• Big Eater: All four of the kids appear to have inherited their dad's appetite, particularly Adam.
• The Big Guy: Adam is this to Andy, Kiara and the rest of the kids in their grade—he's the tallest kid in their grade and has the same build as his dad did when he was at that age.
• Big Sister Instinct/Cool Big Sis: Similar to Helga's Mama Bear-tendencies, Sylvia's shown to have strong protective towards her siblings and their friends. Sylvia's stated to sometimes look after the children of her parents' friends and the friends/classmates of her younger siblings, all of whom really seem to like and look up to her.
  • For example, in "Megan's Lemonade Stand" (where Megan starts a lemonade stand with Kiki and the Berman twins), Sylvia helps the girls to get back at the Jolly Olly Man when he tries shutting down their stand (since it proves to be big competition for his ice cream truck) and helps the girls get their stand running again not just for the twins' sake, but for Megan and Kiki's sake as well.
• Dead Guy Junior: In "Jealousy" (a chapter from The First Year), Harold and Pattie decided to name their son after one of Pattie's great-grandfathers (which would make him the great-great-grandfather of Adam and his sisters), who obviously has long since passed away by the time Adam was born.
• Polar Opposite Twins: Downplayed but still noticeable with Janet and Mindy—Janet's the more aggressive/tomboyish twin while Mindy's more of a Girly Girl and is the more calm-and-collected one. They do share some of the same interests though—aside from their Big Eater-tendencies, the twins are both into professional wrestling.
  • However, Janet appears to be more passionate about wrestling than Mindy is—in "Megan Meets Her Match" (the fanfic where Megan's now 18 and off at college), Janet's stated to be off training to become a professional wrestler. By contrast, Mindy's off at college with the intention of becoming a nurse.

Keisha Horowitz

The adopted daughter of Eugene and his husband, Brandon, and a classmate/close friend of Andy and Kiara.

• Happily Adopted: Since they obviously couldn't have children through biological means, Eugene and his husband adopted all their children (Keisha's the middle child and only daughter of three kids). And it's clear that Keisha has a good relationship with both of her dads.
• Tomboy: Possibly justified in that she was raised by a same-sex male couple and, from what it sounds like, is the only female in the house—Keisha claims to have an older brother named Reese in "Cool Party II" while "Megan's Rival" reveals that she has a younger brother named Thompson.

Roxanne Smythe-Higgins

The daughter of Rex Smythe-Higgins III and Megan's Sitcom Arch-Nemesis.

• Alpha Bitch: She's spoiled by her rich father and is generally very mean and rude to her classmates, particularly Megan and her friends.
• Didn't Think This Through: Twice over in "Tattoo," a fanfic that takes place when she and Megan are 14 and have started their freshman year of high school.
  • 1.) Roxanne's implied to have thrown her big pool party at the end of the fic without permission from her parents—since she was doing so while her dad was at work, she didn't take into consideration that he might come home early (and while the party's in full swing at that).
  • 2.) Since the tattoo she got turned out to be real instead of fake (and was the whole reason she was throwing the party in the first place), it's unknown how Roxanne was planning on hiding it from her family (and for how long).^note All American states (plus Washington, D.C.) have 18 as the legal age for getting a tattoo, but there are some states that allow minors to get tattoos as long as they have the consent of a parent/legal guardian—the state of Washington (which is where Hillwood is), however, is not one of those states.
• Generation Xerox: Megan and Roxanne's rivalry is just like the one between Rex Smythe-Higgins I and Phillip "Phil" Shortman, their paternal great-grandfathers.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Experiences this in "Tattoo". To go into greater detail:
  • 1.) She throws a big party at her house to celebrate her getting a tattoo (which later turns out to be real instead of fake). But when her dad comes home much earlier than she was expecting (and the party's in full swing at this point), his reaction indicates that she was throwing the party (and had gotten the tattoo) behind his back.
  • 2.) When Rex III discovers his daughter's tattoo, he's absolutely furious and starts angrily scolding her in front of everyone at the party—he also drags her away (kicking and screaming) to go see a doctor and get her tattoo removed as soon as possible.
  • 3.) While driving to the doctor, Rex III's still angrily scolding Roxanne and giving her all sorts of punishments for what she did (and will apparently last for a very, very long time).
  • 4.) Fernando—the handsome Foreign Exchange Student that both she and Megan had been crushing on throughout the fanfic—is appalled at what Roxanne did behind her dad's back and admits to Megan and her friends that tattoos aren't his thing, and he only acted the way he did towards Roxanne because he was trying to be polite. Fernando ultimately starts dating Megan (Roxanne's biggest rival).
• Like Parent, Unlike Child: While Rex III may not have exactly have been the nicest person ever when he was a kid, he at least had some redeeming qualities^note He could be very polite and respectful when the situation called for it, doesn't condone stuff like cheating, is willing to acknowledge when he's made a mistake and apologize, and while he and Arnold weren't exactly friends, they did have some level of mutual respect. Roxanne, on the other hand, is a completely selfish brat who's basically a combination of Mandy from Totally Spies! and Princess Morbucks from The Powerpuff Girls (if she weren't a supervillain). In fact, "Megan's Rival" (the one-shot that shows how Megan and Roxanne first met) is partially based on "Stuck Up, Up & Away", which was the debut of Princess Morbucks in the PPG franchise.
• Privileged Rival: While the Shortmans are a fairly affluent family, the Smythe-Higgins family is one of the wealthiest in Hillwood (if not the wealthiest). At least compared to a family like the Shortmans, Roxanne's family is more Old Money rich^note Which basically means that a family has been able to maintain their wealth over multiple generations—Megan and her family are more Nouveau Riche ("New Money"), since they earned their money rather than inheriting it.
• Spoiled Brat: In great contrast to Megan's more Spoiled Sweet.

Bonnie and Maritza

A pair of mean but popular girls at P.S. 118 who're also the daughters of Connie and Maria, respectively, and their ex-husbands, Burt (for Connie) and Tommy (for Maria).

• Family Theme Naming:
  • Bonnie's name rhymes with her mom's name—she also has a younger sister named Lonnie (who's in the same grade as Megan Shortman).
  • "Maritza" sounds similar to "Maria," and Maritza also has a younger sister named Maya (who's also in the same grade as Megan Shortman and is best friends with Lonnie, just like how their moms and older sisters are best friends). Also, all three of their first names start with "M".
• Generation Xerox: Just like their mothers, Bonnie and Maritza are a pair of mean but popular girls who're 6th-graders when Andy's in 4th-grade. Bonnie and Maritza's younger sisters, Lonnie and Maya, are also stated to be just as mean, rude and snobby as their moms and older sisters.

W.J. and Edgar

The sons of Wolfgang and Edmund, respectively, W.J. and Edgar are best friends and two of the biggest bullies in school who serve as rivals to Andy and his main circle of friends (particularly W.J. towards Andy). By the time Andy's in 4th-grade and has Mr. Simmons as his teacher, W.J. and Edgar are 5th-graders with Andy's Aunt Olga as their teacher.

• Cheaters Never Prosper: In "Andy's Tournament", W.J.'s ultimately exposed for cheating in the titular competition (he had stuffed quarters into his karate gloves, which could seriously hurt someone) and is consequently banned from competing in any and all karate competitions in the foreseeable future.
• Competition Freak: W.J. seems to be very overly competitive and has a strong desire to beat Andy at any sport-related events.
• Generation Xerox: They're both bullies just like their dads were when they were kids and, when it comes to their personalities and physical appearances, they're basically just younger versions of their dads. Also, just like Wolfgang and Edmund towards Arnold, W.J. and Edgar are a grade above Andy and his main circle of friends.
• Jerk Jock: W.J. is this, in great contrast to Andy's Lovable Jock.
• Only Known By His Nickname: W.J.'s full name is "Wolfgang Wentworth Junior", but he's always called "W.J."
• The Prankster: They're both known for playing mean pranks on the other students at their school—they've even gone so far as to prank teachers.
  • In the first chapter of "A Perfect Disaster", it's stated that W.J. pranked Mrs. Sherman (his and Edgar's 5th-grade teacher who also happens to be Andy's Aunt Olga) with something that involved putting a bunch of frogs in her desk.
• The Rival: W.J. serves as this to Andy, particularly when it comes to stuff relating to sports.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: They and a bunch of their other friends/lackeys join a karate dojo to one-up Andy at a big karate tournament in "Andy's Tournament". Unfortunately, they all completely tank at pretty much everything in the competition while Andy (who's genuinely passionate about karate and legitimately earned his black belt) totally dominates the competition.
• Would Hit a Girl: W.J. and Edgar have no problem with bullying the female students at their school, including Kiara and Megan (the latter of whom is at least five years younger than them). Unfortunately for them, Andy's always quick to defend his best friend and little sister.
• Would Hurt a Child: Just like their dads, WJ and Edgar have no problem with bullying kids who are younger than them. They've even gone so far as to bully Andy's sister, Megan (who's at least five years younger than them)—thankfully, Andy was quick to stop them.

Albert Matthews

Debuts in "Megan Meets her Match" (where Megan's now 18 and off at college). He's a pre-law student at the same university that Megan's attending and he becomes her tutor after she gets a C in her chemistry class. It's also implied that he's Megan's future husband in "The Golden Years".

• Brutal Honesty: In the third chapter of "Megan Meets Her Match", Albert doesn't hesitate to call Megan out on getting so easily distracted and not taking their tutoring sessions seriously. He also doesn't hesitate to yell at Megan's parents, Arnold and Helga, when he explains to them why he wants to quit being Megan's tutor.
• Hot-Blooded: Despite his nerdy taste in fashion and wimpy-looking appearance, Albert's not afraid to stand up for himself and proves to be just as aggressive and manipulative as Megan can be.
• Informed Flaw: Megan claims him to be a dweeb and a know-it-all. However, she may have been exaggerating due to not wanting a tutor in the first place.
• Nice Guy: Despite his no-nonsense personality, he did agree to be Megan's tutor again after she apologized for how she acted towards him. He's ultimately revealed to be a nice person—he just (understandably) doesn't like it when people waste his time (or people who waste their potential).
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After getting tired of Megan acting rude to him and not taking their tutoring sessions seriously, Albert decides to quit being her tutor and leaves.
• The Smart Guy: He's a second-year pre-law student and works part-time as a tutor, so it's a given. In "Megan in Love", it's revealed that he was the valedictorian at his high school.

Minor Characters

Wolfgang

A mean upperclassman who is one of Arnold's rivals. In the future, he has a son named Wolfgang Junior (more commonly called "W.J.") who is rivals with Arnold's son, Andy.

• Abhorrent Admirer: Towards Helga as they've gotten older.
  • After Helga dolls herself up for their school's annual art show in "Helga's Makeover II", Wolfgang (along with a bunch of other boys who're attending) briefly becomes attracted to her. Although he's later embarrassed/disgusted when he realizes that he was publicly hitting on a younger girl.
  • Unfortunately (for Helga), Wolfgang continually becomes this towards her as they get older—it's stated in "Andy's Tournament" that Wolfgang used to hit on Helga a lot when they were in high school (even though she would've been dating Arnold at the time) and he tried again not long after he and W.J.'s mom, Mary-Jo, got divorced (even though she would've long since been married to Arnold). It got so bad that Helga apparently ended up punching Wolfgang in the face to get him to back off.
• Asshole Victim: At the end of "Andy's Tournament", he ultimately gets beaten up by a group of men (all of whom are in far better shape than he is) that he owes a lot of money to—it's to the point of where Wolfgang Senior ultimately has to be hospitalized. But given what a terrible father he is to W.J. (and what a bad husband he was to Mary-Jo when they were still together) as well as all the crap he put Arnold, Helga and the others through in their youth, it's pretty much impossible to feel sorry for him. Mary-Jo ultimately gives him No Sympathy and basically tells her ex-husband's creditors to take the fight somewhere else so she doesn't have to clean up the resulting mess.
• The Bully: He's really only gotten worse as he's gotten older—as noted by Arnold in "Andy's Tournament," the only real differences are that Wolfgang doesn't go around doing things like beating people up, stealing their belongings, or stuffing them into trashcans... mainly because he'd probably get arrested if he tried pulling stunts like that as an adult.
• Named by the Adaptation: His last name was never revealed in the original series, but Flower princess11 has given him the last name "Wentworth" (which also gives him an Alliterative Name).
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Once his son is exposed for cheating during the titular competition in "Andy's Tournament", Wolfgang Senior (who had bet a lot of money on his son's final match with Andy) decides to disappear for a little while, mostly to avoid to the people who he owed the money he bet before they come to collect from him (and learn that the money that Wolfgang Senior bet didn't exist).

Edmund

Wolfgang's best friend/sidekick. In the future, he has a son of his own named "Edgar," who has a similar relationship with Wolfgang's son, W.J.

• Abhorrent Admirer: In "Helga's Makeover II", like Wolfgang, he was briefly stunned by Helga's new makeover, much to her disgust.
• Bumbling Sidekick: Just like in canon.

Rex Smyth-Higgins III

Rex is one of the richest kids in town and another rival of Arnold's. In the future, he has a son named Rex IV and a daughter named Roxanne, who become rivals to Andy and Megan, respectively.

• Abhorrent Admirer: In "Helga's Makeover II", he is one of the boys who becomes smitten with Helga after she receives her makeover. Thankfully, he backs off after he learns that she is Arnold's girlfriend.
• Everyone Has Standards: While he can be a jerk and was rather pushy in his flirting, he did apologize to both Helga and Arnold for his behavior once he learned that they were in a relationship.

Summer

An aspiring actress who once tried to use Arnold until Helga exposed her. She appears in "Summer Love II" with a new boyfriend named Jason, and the couple competes against Arnold and Helga in the town's annual sandcastle contest.

• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: "Evil" is pushing it, but as seen in "A Trip to the Beach", Summer really does love and care about her children (she has two sons named Sky and Sonny and two daughters named June and Britney) and at least tries being a good parent to them.
• Future Loser: Seems to have become this by the events of "A Trip to the Beach"^note Which takes place when Andy and Kiara are in 4th-grade. To go into greater detail:
  • 1.) Just like Olga (Helga's older sister), Summer failed to make it big as an actress.
  • 2.) While she eventually got married and had four children, she and her husband got divorced, with Summer apparently having primary of their kids^note Summer's ex-husband (her kids' dad) apparently hasn't visited much since they got divorced and it's stated that he is the one who pays alimony and child support.
  • 3.) Much like Olga and her family, Summer and her family don't appear to be as financially well-off as the Shortmans are (for example, Summer's described as having an old, cluttered minivan that she's still paying off).
• Jerkass: Just like in canon.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Summer is shown to be this in regards to her family. She is bitter about her divorce from her husband and unwilling to admit her fault in him leaving her. However, part of the reason she was angry is that her ex-husband has not spent any time with their children. Also, when Summer set up rules to follow while on the beach, most of them were for her kids' benefit and safety.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Happens thrice over for her in "Summer Love II":
  • 1.) She and Jason are disqualified from the sandcastle contest for cheating^note They mixed in some clay with the sand they used to build their sculpture (to make it sturdier) and they put some cooked meat behind all the castles (except theirs) to lure over a pack of dogs to destroy them (they had released the dogs themselves).
  • 2.) Jason, tired of Summer's bad attitude, dumps her in front everyone at the sandcastle contest.
  • 3.) Summer's eventually chased around by a swarm of bees after (inadvertently) disturbing them.
• Like Parent, Unlike Child: Much like Paola Baxter from from FP11's Many Dates-fanfics, Summer's kids have proven themselves to be much kinder and friendlier than she is, to the point of where they become friends with the children of people who are enemies/rivals of hers.
• Named by the Adaptation: Summer's last name was never revealed in the original series, but Flower princess11 has given her the last name "Mitchell".
• Vague Age: While she was obviously older than Arnold and Helga in the original series, we never find out her exact age. In "Summer Love II", the author establishes Summer as being 14 years old. Since Arnold and Helga are most likely 12 during the events of that fanfic, this would mean that Summer's at least two years older than Arnold and Helga. This would also mean that Summer's probably around 36 or 37 in "A Trip to the Beach".

Former Tenants of Sunset Arms

The people who were living at the boarding house when Arnold was a kid but have long since moved out by the time Andy's in 4th-grade. Despite moving out, Arnold has still kept in touch with them over the years and it's revealed in "Reunion at the Boarding House" that Arnold convinced his parents and grandparents to host a reunion once every five years so they can all see each other in person.

• Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Ernie's very overprotective of his and Lola's daughters when it comes to anything related to boys.
• Gambling Ruins Lives: One of the ways that Oskar contrasts Franklin is their attitudes about gambling; Oskar was a lazy parasite who often gambled away Suzie's money while Franklin is a hard worker who abhors gambling.
• Huge Girl, Tiny Guy: Ernie (a short and squat man) is this to his wife, Lola, a fashion model who's already above average height.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Though Oskar continued living at the boarding house for at least a year after Suzie finally divorced him and moved out, he was eventually kicked out (for good) after failing to pay his rent for at least three months.
  • While he was married to Peggy (his second wife), Oskar scored a job selling knock-off designer clothing, but shortly after Peggy divorced him, Oskar's business got shut down by the police.
  • His third wife, Cindy, divorced him (and slapped him with a restraining order) after discovering that Oskar (who was working for a telemarketing company at the time) tried scamming her grandmother (to whom Cindy was very close to) out of some money.
• Massive Numbered Siblings: "Reunion at the Boarding House" reveals that Ernie and Lola ended up having nine daughters.
• Multigenerational Household: The main reason that Mr. Hyunh moved out of the boarding house was so he could live with his daughter and son-in-law, especially after they revealed that they were expecting a baby.
• Never My Fault:
  • Even by the events of "Reunion at the Boarding House," Oskar (who's 60 at this point) still refuses to take responsibility for his actions and acts more like some bratty little kid... at least not until the end of chapter 6 of "Reunion at the Boarding House".
  • Averted with Suzie—in "Reunion at the Boarding House", Suzie (who had gone to therapy for a while both before and after the end of her relationship with Oskar) acknowledges that her own treatment of Oskar and how she handled things in their relationship weren't exactly okay, but unlike her ex, she is willing to take responsibility for her actions and was able to move on with her life, finding success and happiness.
• She's All Grown Up: Morgan Jones considers this to be the case for Audrey Potts when they meet up at the reunion after not seeing each other since they were at least 13.
• Ship Tease: Morgan Jones (Suzie's son through her second husband) and Audrey Potts (Ernie and Lola's second-oldest daughter) have this in the fourth chapter of "Reunion at the Boarding House".
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After trying to steal all the cupcakes that Helga and Megan had made for the party in "Reunion at the Boarding House," Oskar's on the receiving end of an epic one from Phil and all the boarders who lived at Sunset Arms when Arnold was Andy's age (except for Suzie, who chooses to stay out of it). After he's called out on pretty much every single one of his faults, Oskar leaves the party in a huff.

Spoiler Characters

Phillip "Phil" Martin Shortman

The future son (and only known child) of Andy and Kiara and the grandson of Arnold (paternal grandfather), Helga (paternal grandmother), Gerald (maternal grandfather) and Phoebe (maternal grandmother), who debuted in "The Golden Years". His middle name comes from his mom's paternal grandfather (who would be his great-grandfather), Martin Johannsen, while his first name comes from the paternal grandfather of his paternal grandfather (who would be his great-great-grandfather), Phillip "Phil" Shortman.

• Dead Guy Junior: For his first name, at least. Despite what the doctor said in "Grandpa's Birthday", Arnold's paternal grandfather is (most likely) no longer alive by the time Arnold and Helga become grandparents themselves.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Just like his dad and paternal grandfather, he's a Nice Guy with blonde hair.
• Nice Guy: Again, just like his dad and paternal grandfather.