ℬ𝓁𝑜𝑜𝒹 ℳ𝑜𝑜𝓃.

[mint]

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"She's a beast on the field," the Mystic Falls newspaper annually writes beside a highly sharpened black & white picture of Diane racing down a field of glossy grass. Her dad always laughs at the irony, paired with Diane's sly grin. It’s the only moment of humor she finds about the agonizing state, the only moment where her dad truly gets her.

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒

𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒

𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞 •• Diane Hyeon Danton
𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 •• Di by close friends and family, DD by her younger brother

𝐀𝐠𝐞 •• Eighteen
𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 •• June 22nd
𝐙𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐜 •• ☼ Cancer ☽ Sagittarius ↑ Taurus
𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 •• Senior

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 + 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬 •• Cis female, she/her
𝐒𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 •• Bisexual
𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 •• Werewolf

𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 •• Mystic Falls, VA
𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 •• Mystic Falls, VA

𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 •• Hoyeon Jung

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𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘

𝒞𝑜𝓂𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃𝒶𝓉𝑒 ⋆ 𝒟𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓉 ⋆ 𝒞𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 ⋆ 𝒯𝑒𝓇𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑜𝓇𝒾𝒶𝓁 ⋆ 𝒞𝒶𝓁𝓂 ⋆ 𝒞𝑜𝓂𝓅𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓋𝑒 ⋆ ℰ𝓍𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓉𝑒𝒹 ⋆
𝒩𝑒𝓊𝓇𝑜𝓉𝒾𝒸 ⋆ 𝒜𝓉𝒽𝓁𝑒𝓉𝒾𝒸 ⋆ 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 ⋆ 𝒜𝓁𝓁𝓊𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 ⋆ ℒ𝑜𝓎𝒶𝓁 ⋆ ℐ𝓂𝓅𝓊𝓁𝓈𝒾𝓋𝑒

A creature of habit, Diane protects those who have gained her trust and love fiercely. She wouldn't say she's territorial, but her brother would. A girl with extremely close friends, and a wider circe of friends and acquaintances, Diane has mastered the system of networking and befriending perfectly. Effortlessly charming, her infrequent but impactful jokes present her as a calm, cool, and collected woman who's set on finishing her high school years on a high note and making a name for herself past school. She does not linger, nor believe, that she's already done so in Mystic Falls.

With her name on many of the trophies in the halls, Diane is well known throughout the school and town (it's hard not to be when your name is plastered across the tops of newspapers and advertisements). She's an athlete, a competitor who does not like to lose yet maintains her collected composure even out on the field... much to the shock of her family members.

To others, she appears as alluring, maybe even with a charm of mystery that pulls people in and makes them want to know her. They see her loving touches and caring glances towards her friends and know she's someone to have on your side. That's how it always is, she's compassionate, with a big heart, and a want to help others. Diane is consistently there when her friends need her and never needs to ask when that time is. She reads body language like an expert and communicates with expressions to let them know she's there instead of outing their woes to whoever's around.

She's a girl that loves to laugh, to catch up, to hear about what you want out of life, your most treasured accomplishment (not like she's trying to figure out her own wants in hearing others or anything...).

There's a block, though, for those not close enough to know her ins and outs. With a warm greeting, questions too personal or too deep about herself often result in a switch. Her smile fades to a slight curve, nearly a straight line, and she'll steer the conversation elsewhere, making a mental note not to spend too much time with you again. She doesn't like to be pushed or prodded, those are things only the closest to her can get away with.

It seems like she keeps most people surface level, they can't scratch through. They can cheer for her in the stands or dance with her on the wooden flooring of a house party, but she will not open herself up to sharing the little things people are wanting to know about her, desperate to figure out.

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𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘

Keep your head low, don’t cause too much trouble, hide in plain sight. First, it was guidance on how to avoid eyes or investigative inquiries being drawn to the Danton household. A lesson on how to appear perfectly normal. But then they became pleas.

There has never been anything simply normal about Diane Danton. Her own name rings with a rich history in the town of Mystic Falls. A last name that means something, one that says they’ve been here for too long or at least asserts that it’s been longer than you. But unlike the other eldest families of the town, the Dantons prefer to maintain their privacy. The blinds are drawn once the sun begins to set. They support their children from the sidelines at games with heartfelt claps, keeping to themselves and never growing too loud. They are perceived just as they present themselves - a nuclear family who spend their time between day jobs and home.

Seo-Yun and Minsuh had it planned out - how to keep Diane’s less than normal condition a secret. A monthly tradition was developed to keep suspicion at bay each time their daughter turned into a tormented beast. Their favorite charities (and Mystic Falls Elementary) all received generous donations to be touted in a pamphlet of thanks at the close of the school year, their names engraved in gold ink across the paper with the highest of donors. They went to just enough events and said the right things to make their lives appear average. And, for a while, it worked.

What they couldn’t control was the thrill Diane felt racing across a field in freshly broken-in soccer cleats. The quick instincts and automatic, natural talent for any and all sports. The Danton couple knew they were in trouble at her first soccer game. Other parents gasped, they stood, they screamed with applause as little Diane Danton pumped her arms, her legs, and kicked the soccer ball that was a bit too big for her into the net with a swoosh. Seo-Yun roared with pride, clapping hands with the other dads around them. It took mere moments for him to notice his wife’s face had drained of color, that she was staring, lost in the blades of grass. With a daughter as talented as theirs, he knew eyes would be on them like never before. In wonder or in competition.

Minsuh paced in front of her husband tucked under the covers of their tightly made bed. An empty glass of white wine perched on her nightstand, “This is no good.” Her long, manicured fingers drummed against her cheek, “this ruins it all.”

“Ruins it?” Seo-Yun wanted to argue, he wanted to ask his wife how seeing their daughter the happiest he ever had was a bad thing, why couldn’t they let this one thing slide?

His hands cupped his young daughter’s, he couldn’t even meet her eyes, “Diane, did you know you could play like that?” He remembered her stumbling about when she was a toddler, always falling and sitting straight up on the floor with wide, curious eyes.

“I’ve never felt like that before, Daddy,” Her bright eyes shined with a toothy smile, “I felt so strong.” A word she had never used, quite the opposite. Diane had described feeling helpless, fearful, never in control, as much as a young child experiencing an excruciating, uncontrollable transformation into a blood-hungry werewolf pup could. Little Diane Danton was no dummy, she knew these newfound skills were because of the werewolf living within her. But she didn’t care, the skills were hers, werewolf or not.

The Dantons were regulars at each and every soccer game because Diane played in them all. Her father donned a crisp, white shirt with her number tastefully painted across it, her younger brother in one that matched. Minsuh always appeared drawn back, in office-wear and sunglasses which her husband believed was a ploy to discourage others from approaching her. In her mind, sticking to their simple life, relatively withdrawn from the townspeople, was the only way to ensure Diane was safe, to ensure they were all protected. The comeback that this was all Seo-Yun’s fault, Seo-Yun who didn't tell her about this massive family secret, Seo-Yun who couldn’t say no to his daughter, Seo-Yun who couldn’t protect her when their carefully crafted facade came falling down stored itself in the back of her mind. How long did they really think they’d be able to control the wishes of a werewolf, anyways? Certainly not as a teenager, for Pete’s sake. That breed is already hard enough to tame on its own.

But Minsuh was never a cruel woman, simply concerned. She's a planner, one who sticks to rules and her word, one that wished to live the normal life she had always dreamed of. Despite that now including children she never wanted, and an unimaginable secret she never wanted, each day of the full moon she was sure to be by her daughter’s side, making her favorite waffles and holding her hand until the moon had risen. Minsuh loves her daughter, it just tears her apart to see, to hear, to feel what she has to endure.

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Diane had never felt pain until the moonlight hit her skin the first time post-curse triggering. She can't remember feeling anything so strong before that. She can't really remember anything of the year at all for that matter.

She can see the memories, she can reach for the scenes and almost grab them. But the images remain blurred, silent, untouchable. The only one absolutely clear is one where she could hear soft sobs through the thin wall.

Sulien was curled in his bed, clutching his stomach with fresh tears welling against his long lashes and rolling down his cheeks, “My stomach hurts, DD,” he choked. She walked through the motions of what her mother always did - ginger ale and a hot water bottle for the tummy. And once he was settled, growing too exhausted to keep crying, Diane laid down at the foot of his bed to watch over him. She woke up to sunlight streaming through his curtains, pressing itself against her face. A small dried spot of drool was printed on the back of her hand which she had used for a pillow and her brother’s foot touching her forehead. She moved it away with little register from the sleeping toddler and smiled to herself before curling up under her purple fuzzy blanket and clutching her teddy bear back in her own bed.

Everything around that sole memory is foggy. She can see the cherry red t-shirt that she wore religiously when she was 4, the swing set they have in the backyard with less ware, her favorite ice pop. She sees snippets of what happened throughout the year but never more than one item. And the month where she must have triggered her curse resides as a blank canvas of nothing, as if nothing ever happened, the time simply didn’t exist.

Up until this point, Diane’s life and a battalion of questions have been met with dead ends and useless answers, if any at all. The only one that gave her bits and pieces of the truth was her grandfather. Junseo LASTNAME (maybe a Danton too idk still deciding), a renowned archaeologist and historian on the east coast, had devoted his life to unearthing secrets and unanswered questions of what was on this land long ago. That was until Diane turned for the first time.

Junseo had a connection with his granddaughter from the second she was born. He knew she was brilliant, he knew she was special, and he could not stand to see the tears well up in her eyes when her parents would update him on what was going on. Not his little Diane. The only one outside of the core four Dantons to know of her condition, Junseo set up shop in Mystic Falls, searching and investigating all he could on the supernatural happenings of the town.

Instead of trying to hide all that she was, Diane felt that her grandfather was truly the only one trying to help her. She spent most weekends sitting with him in his den, paging through the oldest books on battles and history in Mystic Falls, any ancient texts from foreign lands discussing transformations and sharp teeth, all the scripture about beasts that are almost human. And of course, some breaks to watch the silliest movie on tv at the moment over some warm, homemade bread.

He was a big believer in writing everything down, every idea, every discovery, every breakthrough. He wrote about his good days and his bad days. Even when his knees were wobbly. Even after he took a fall. Junseo was Diane's best friend, the one she knew she could relax around, her safe place. Her grandpa was always there to give advice and help in any way he could. She always felt the love radiating from him. And it destroyed her when he passed away.

Nestled in the bookshelf they built together, Diane has stored tokens of his expeditions and adventures throughout his life, and his journals, each and every one of them. She reads them like literature, reliving the experiences with him. It's the last one, his final book of the series, that she can't seem to read to the end of because if she makes it to the end, the story is really over, and she'll have to come to terms with the fact that he's truly gone instead of waiting to wake up from this horrible reality where her best friend is not here anymore.

But that lick of temptation, the pull of what he could have uncovered, always makes her consider flipping the page to the final chapter. She knows there's something there for her, he told her so himself in his final moments. She doesn't know if she can handle it all again.

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Diane has never truly felt like herself around anyone other than her grandfather, the person she fervently believed was the only one who knew who she was when even she didn't. And with him gone, she's felt a hard shell circle back around her. She has no answer for when she asks herself, "Who is Diane Danton?" other than silence.

At school, Diane has always done well with coursework and grades. She's no know-it-all but she's a bright enough student who doesn't have to worry much about understanding academics. And athleticism is a given. She's a jock that dresses like a prep with the air of a mysterious girl who hangs out under the bleachers at lunch. The disarray of too many tropes projects an attitude and reclusive way so that no one gets too close. With a touch of imposter syndrome thrown in; it is not lost on her that her wild athleticism is the result of an unnatural change, not truly her own talent.

She tries her hardest not to get pulled down the spiral of these thoughts because then the loneliness creeps in and the anxiety takes over. She feels lost in the pull of who she is because she can't even figure out who she wants to be or what she wants to do. Her internal struggles, far more than one, don't line up with the girl her parents pushed her to be, and she feels like she just doesn't fit. They wanted her to sit at home when she wasn't at school, having friends she didn't see regularly, and not letting anyone get to know her too well. They wanted her to be a recluse. It was quickly apparent to her dad that living a near-hermit life was not one worth living.

Sitting in her room alone only made her feel worse about herself. And so pushing the boundary of what her parents knew made her heart pound and her head free. She felt like laughing the first time she snuck out of the house, bare feet on wet concrete. She was warm and giddy sipping alcohol by the lake when she was sixteen. Dealing was just the next step in a way to push back against what was expected of her, to become more social even, and make some nice pocket change to fuel her shopping love as an added bonus.

Truly, Diane has the potential to be great at whatever she chooses to do. She's passionate but often gets in her own way and in her own head. She has a hard time getting the Danton family mantra of keeping her head down and being basically invisible out of her head. Of course, her parents don't know she's done basically the opposite at school, but the added guidance of needing to withdraw herself does the most in reminding her that she is not normal, that she can't be the only thing she really wants to at this moment: like everybody else.

[mint]

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The best way to hunt a supernatural creature is to have one of your own. That might be the sentiment behind the Danton founders, in some sense. Most of its members are afflicted with the latent werewolf gene. Normally it just manifests itself in some anger issues. In fact, it's so rarely activated these days that half of the Dantons have no idea about the power coursing through their very veins. Minsuh and Seo-Yun aren't so lucky, as their eldest daughter triggered her curse when she was only four years old. They haven't exactly been forthcoming as to how a werewolf gene is activated either. She has no clue why she endures hell every month, while her parents, brothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins go on as if nothing is happening. Because of this dark secret over their heads, this branch of the Danton family has tried to keep a low profile. They shake just enough hands and donate just enough money to not be looked at twice. They wish they could withdraw from the public more, but god knows in this town, nothing spreads like a scandal. The key, of course, is to seem perfectly average. But how much longer can that last if Diana realizes the reason she howls at the moon? After all, the werewolf gene is only activated when 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓶𝓾𝓻𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓮. That's not news she's bound to take lightly.

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𝕱𝖆𝖒𝖎𝖑𝖞 𝕯𝖞𝖓𝖆𝖒𝖎𝖈 —

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐔𝐇
𝖆𝖌𝖊 〉〉 Forty-Eight
𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖈𝖎𝖊𝖘 〉〉 Human
𝖔𝖈𝖈𝖚𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 〉〉 Agent at Marketing Firm
꞊ Feels a bit betrayed and trapped about the whole werewolf thing. No one warned her this was in the cards before the wedding! Resentment has been building for years. "It will never be a problem," he said. Look where they are now!
꞊ Never really wanted to be a mother but was so in love with Seo-Yun that she got wrapped up in the fantasy of it all. Loves her kids but can't help but dream of the life she could've had for herself. Getting especially more distance now that her marriage is falling apart

𝐒𝐄𝐎-𝐘𝐔𝐍
𝖆𝖌𝖊 〉〉 Fifty
𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖈𝖎𝖊𝖘 〉〉 Human with Latent Werewolf Gene
𝖔𝖈𝖈𝖚𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 〉〉 Part-Time Attorney at Law
꞊ Spent most of his life thinking the werewolf gene was a hilarious tale drunk uncles told in his family to scare kids into going to bed on time. Now he's the one who's had to lock his daughter up and hear her screams every month since she was four
꞊ Only works part-time because he is beyond devoted to his kids. He wasn't able to protect Diane all those years ago. He never wants a bad thing to happen to them ever again
꞊ Is terrified to tell his family { and the town, to an extent } about the divorce but knows they can't put it off much longer

𝐒𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍
𝖆𝖌𝖊 〉〉 Seventeen
𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖈𝖎𝖊𝖘 〉〉 Human with Latent Werewolf Gene
𝖔𝖈𝖈𝖚𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 〉〉 High School Student
꞊ Actually only ten months younger than Diane. He's always liked being in the same grade as if they were twins. Her, not so much
꞊ That's probably because he's a bit of a goofball who can't take anything seriously
꞊ Fueled by fear over the fact that his sister is a werewolf. Doesn't realize it could technically happen to him. In general, doesn't want anything to do with the supernatural. Uses jokes as a projection from all this anxiety

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𝐃 𝐀 𝐍 𝐓 𝐎 𝐍 𝐅 𝐀 𝐌 𝐈 𝐋 𝐘 𝐇 𝐈 𝐒 𝐓 𝐎 𝐑 𝐘

[mint]

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𝐇 𝐄 𝐀 𝐃 𝐂 𝐀 𝐍 𝐍 𝐎 𝐍 𝐒

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— deeply knowledgeable about homeopathic remedies and constantly experimenting with new herb combinations that are supposed to dull mass amounts of pain

— never found without: a hot coffee, her grandfather's notebook, leather satchel, her necklace of a half moon, a sly smile

— there's definitely an air that she has a secret around her, but one's that's more mysterious, enticing even

— wears glasses to throw anyone off the werewolf trace, how could she be a werewolf if she can't even see up to the normal human standard

— has never been captain despite easily being best on the soccer, basketball, and lacrosse team... and she's really ok with that, her anxiety is already at a peak without the added pressure of being a constant smiling! encouraging! presence! on the team

— poor girl is figuring this whole thing out on her own. Diane truly feels as if she has no one to talk to and knows no one can understand what she's going through. No one can even give her any help with the answers she needs for christ's sake. A constant pit of loneliness swirls in her mind.

— the divorce and complex relationship between her parents has only amplified this

— despite how annoying she may find her younger brother, she is eternally grateful for his support and love... but she'd never tell him that. how would one even thank a person for sticking by them despite being sure they've probably tried to kill them before

— often thinks about how her dad and brother are just one move, one action away from igniting the gene that would make them understand it all. sometimes she just wishes one of them would, wishes she wasn't alone in this mess. but she would never wish this curse on anyone.

— feels like her only real escapes from the constant reminder of the weirdness in her life and the whole town are reading her grandfather's journal (also in a desperate attempt to hang on to him as her memories slowly fade) and racing across any athletic competition to champion a win

— has two very close friends but are among a larger "friend group"

— works a few shifts at the library where she obviously uses any free time looking into what the hell has happened to her

— cannot stand perfume or air fresheners

— don't talk to her about pain, she's have no sympathy for you

— each full moon she takes a "camping trip" with her family to get away from their small town of Mystic Falls and reconnect through nature... supposedly — really just locked in the basement or the tunnels under the town screaming and crying out

⋆ 𝓸𝓷 𝓼𝓽𝔂𝓵𝓮 ⋆

Lots of skirts and slacks with cozy sweaters. Always looks put together in an eternally autumnal way. Doesn’t venture into the

⋆ 𝓸𝓷 𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓹𝓼 ⋆

She never lets her friends get too close. With a collection of two she’d call her best friends, it seems like they fit into a greater group of friends, ones she might even just call acquaintances. The logistics and driving factor of having two incredibly close friends she protects at all costs is not lost on her. Despite being a rather social person, she often finds herself in a pit of loneliness. If she doesn’t even know herself, how can they? She finds herself longing for someone who understands. Her brother is only a step away from being in her shoes, having the same condition, and sometimes she’s tempted to draw him in with her. But she would never want him to feel so exiled, feel the agony each month. She never want the person she loves the most to go through any of it.

⋆ 𝓸𝓷 𝓯𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵𝔂 ⋆

⋆ 𝓸𝓷 𝓹𝓪𝓲𝓷 ⋆

Rarely, if ever do people see Diane wince in pain. Rarely do they ever see her get hurt, for that matter. With those dangerous slides into the feet of her opponents or tumbling falls, she must have at least broken her leg once, maybe an arm… right? She says that she’s just lucky, not careful, just lucky she’s never been seriously injured or sidelined for a game. Just cuts and bruises to show for it. Whatever the pain may be, it never flashes across her face. Dealing with her monthly, excruciating pain has dulled the rest, dulled almost everything really.

⋆ 𝓸𝓷 𝓹𝓪𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 ⋆

Diane Denton only does hot coffee, cat eye sunglasses, and too many books for fun in her bag

⋆ 𝓸𝓷 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯 ⋆