𝓂𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇, 𝓂𝒶𝓎 𝒾 𝓈𝓁𝑒𝑒𝓅 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒹𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇

[emotions]

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❝𝐵𝒶𝒷𝓎, 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒶 𝓋𝒶𝓂𝓅𝒾𝓇𝑒
𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓈𝑒𝒹
𝐼'𝓂 𝒶 𝒷𝒶𝒹 𝓁𝒾𝒶𝓇
𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶 𝓈𝒶𝓋𝒾𝑜𝓇 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝓁𝑒𝓍
𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓀𝑒𝓁𝑒𝓉𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝒾𝒹𝑒
𝒮𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓂𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼'𝓁𝓁 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑒❞

— Savior Complex, Phoebe Bridgers

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𝕿𝖆𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝕮𝖔𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖘
ʙɪᴏɢʀᴀᴘʜʏ • ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴɴᴏɴs • ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘꜱ • ᴘʟᴏᴛᴛɪɴɢ

[emotions]

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𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄 •• Izaro Manuela Juarez
𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 •• Not the kind of person that loathes nicknames. As a matter of fact, Izaro would often push people to call her anything but her actual name. Whether it's Iz, Izzy or Iza, she eats it up like pancake breakfast.

𝐀𝐆𝐄 •• Eighteen
𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘 •• April 8th 2002 | 02:15 am
𝐙𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐂 •• ☼ Aries ☽ Libra ↑ Capricorn
𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐄 •• High School Senior

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 + 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐒 •• Cis female | She/her
𝐒𝐄𝐗𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 •• Must we talk about this? Izaro is 𝒸𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓁𝓎 straight
𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐒 •• Human

𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 •• McKinley, Virginia, US
𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 •• Mystic Falls, Virginia , US

𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐋 •• Damaris Goddrie
𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐒 •• 474C1E | 610808

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❝𝐼 𝓈𝓌𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝐼'𝓂 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝑔𝓇𝓎, 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉'𝓈 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝒶𝒸𝑒❞
— Punisher, Phoebe Bridgers

Izaro Juarez is chivalrous. Adventurous. Bold. A natural thrill seeker; always living life on the edge and never shying away from a challenge. Speaking of shying away - shy is something Iz has never been in her whole nineteen years of life. Sure, she can be a bit stubborn and self-reliant at times (has the always the leader never the follower type of mentality), but she makes up for it by being friendly, engaging and charming. Despite growing up in a big family with two siblings, Iz is strangely independent, but once in a group setting - especially made by people she's close and comfortable with - her guard is lowered and she shamelessly searches for affection. Her need to be admired and appreciated is massive and maybe that's why she goes to great lengths to make others laugh and feel special.

Enjoys her independence and thrives at activities that make her feel free. Not big when it comes to commitments, routines and responsibilities, hence why most of her hobbies and interests have always changed drastically over the years. If something has somehow managed to stick around for longer than a year, it's probably because Iz has found a way to switch it up and make it fun for herself.

Avoids confrontation at all cost, mainly because she has a bit of a temper. If Izaro were to lose control, all hell breaks loose; anger easily takes over all her senses and she has a very difficult time calming herself down. A part of Izaro blames her parents for it - after all they're the ones who from a young age taught her and her siblings that violence is bad and that they should feel guilty about their anger and negative energy they put into the world. Maybe these weird teachings are the reason why Izaro has grown to dislike domineering and controlling people; the kinds who relentlessly push some sort of a weird agenda and shame others for having feelings they simply cannot control.

Speaking of feelings you can't control - Iz is at a constant battle with her head and her heart. Times and times, she's proven to herself the difficulty over balancing her emotions with rational thinking. No matter how hard she tries to approach the more logical route of things, in the end she's always giving into her heart's desires. So, instead of fighting with her friends and those she loves and cares about, she deflects the situation by using charm and humor. But if there were to be a conflict with someone else, perhaps someone who tries to control or tell her what to do, Iz will do everything in her power to spite them and do exactly the opposite of what they're suggesting.

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❝𝒞𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓇 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝑒
𝒯𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊?❞
— Killer, Phoebe Bridgers

I suppose to the average onlooker my family would often be considered strange or weird or peculiar and if such thing were to be said directly to my face instead of being cowardly whispered behind my back, I’d wholeheartedly agree. Because we are strange and weird and peculiar. And it has nothing to do with the fact that neither one of my parents has ever said I love you to any of my siblings and I. Or the fact that our birthdays were often celebrated three days later because someone would always forget and now they were doing everything in their power to make up for it. All of this – their lack of affection and occasional absence – is something Blanca, Miguel and I have become quite used to and content with. We’ve always known they trusted us, after all, trust is a must in our family and no matter how distant we are from one another, secrets must never remain secret. You dish it all out during those rare Sunday family dinners where we all eat greasy pizza in front of the TV and revert back to complete strangers on Monday morning.

Fun!

Personally, I’ve never liked those Sunday dinners – they always felt forced and unnecessary and there’s only very little you can keep secret when your parents are pulling words out of your mouth the same way they pull vampire teeth. Forceful, demanding, apathetic…. All of the things they ever found out from us; it was never information we were ready to share in that moment. Like the news of Blanca’s lost virginity or Miguel’s pansexuality or…

Me?

I never kept secrets. Or better said, I never did things that could pass as secretive. I’ve always known better than that. I saw the way they quietly shamed my siblings for their wrongful decisions; for their innocent teenage rebellion and decided to avoid that awful route of adolescence. Maybe that’s why Dad has always been much nicer to me than he is to Blanca – his alleged favorite - when I bring home bad grades. Mom on the other hand doesn’t do favorites. She says preferences make you weak; never put one on a pedestal and other hypocritical bullshit like that, but we know better. I know better. The reason Mom doesn’t have a favorite kid is because, quietly she hates all of us for not turning into the sociopath that she is. And maybe that’s a good thing.

Sometimes, I miss being her favorite.

Of course, neither Blanca or Miguel knows what I really mean when I say Mom is a sociopath. They think it has something to do with her dumb charm or glamour because one time they saw this one documentary on sociopaths and now they think all sociopaths function the same. And maybe they do, I don’t have a fucking clue about the way sociopaths works, but I know my Mom. I know the things she does and I’ve seen the fucking look on her fucking face; the sheer joy in those usually cold and emotionless eyes of hers when she made that poor vampire scream and beg for his life.

No.
Not poor.
Vampires suck.

They’re terrible. They’re one of the many reasons why our world is so fucking fucked. They are the reason why we moved to this dumb town in the first place. They are…. They…. They just suck okay!? Vampires fucking suck! They are bad and I want to kill all of them!

Well – technically they’re already dead so… I wanna make them be deader or whatever...

Thing is I would’ve already done that, but… I’m not as strong as I used to be. My senses…. My eyes…. Vampires are supposed to be at their strongest during the night and yet here I am, blind as a bat whenever darkness falls. I blame it all on 𝓂𝓎 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉; that sick blow to my head that had me spent two months in a fucking coma! And that’s not the worst thing of all – I woke up blind! Literally no vision in sight! Just a black veil over my head and nothing else to rely on but my smell, touch and hearing. Quite dreadful if you’re asking me, especially for a person who had a pretty healthy sighting before all of that. Of course, my short-lasting amnesia somehow made the whole thing slightly bit more bearable because when I woke up blind with no recollection of who I am and where I am, I genuinely thought I hadn’t been able to see my entire fucking life.

That was the first time I saw, or better said, sensed any sort of kindness, fear and remorse in my parents. At the time I thought this sort of thing was normal for them – because, y’know, that’s how parents are supposed to be like. They’re supposed to be visibly scared and loving and affectionate towards their child when something as bad as 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉 happens. But once all of those memories came rushing back to my brain, I realized that up until that moment, I had never seen my parents showcase anything but pride or amusement.

Every day since I came out of the coma, they flocked around my bed like a bunch of hungry seagulls on a pier. One of them – quite possibly Mom because her god-awful floral perfume will forever stay lodged in the back of my nose – kept stroking my hair gently, while the other paced the room like a nervous wreck. They kept asking me all sorts of questions that made my head hurt, “Can you remember anything?” Mom said, her voice lukewarm-ish. “What’s your middle name?” Dad added and I pretended to have fallen asleep.

Sometimes, I think they knew I was faking it because with all that constant darkness surrounding me, I never knew when my eyes had been open or closed. Maybe, just maybe, they thought I was one of those weirdos that slept with their eyes open. And maybe, just maybe, they bought it because as much as they claimed they did, they never truly knew any of their kids.

My memories came back – eventually. It was a slow fucking process, very similar to all those Sunday nights when Mom and Dad would pull secrets out of Blanca, Miguel and me. I had to do the same. I had to sit in my hospital bed, with a cup of jello in hand and force all those things I have forgotten to come rushing back to me. Once they did, I had a headache for three whole days. No one is capable of remembering so many things at once. I remembered the first time I rode a bike; the day I crashed it into my neighbor’s fence; my first basketball training; my first swimming lessons; ballet lessons – just how many lessons had I taken? I’d forgotten I got bored super easily.

I remembered dumb conversations with friends; meaningless flings and first kisses; lyrics to songs whose melodies I’ve forgotten; gymnastic lessons – apparently I was quite good at that; violin lessons – terrible; so many arguments Blanca and I’ve had over the years; Mom and Dad telling us that the basement is off limits for some strange reason; Blanca going off to college; Miguel getting into fights at school; a fiery red head who clearly wasn’t a natural red head – her hair was too red, too fiery; another first kiss with a boy whose voice I remembered but face couldn’t quite place. The basement. Screaming. Quiet steps. A door opening and a light. Blood and Mom looking as bright as all those town lights during Christmas. Vampires. Witches. Werewolves. Mom made me read about so many things. Dad wasn’t happy. I think he started to hate me. Did Dad hate me? Ice-cream in the summer. Woodshop classes. Cheerleading practice. So many people. Names, names, names. Pretty faces. Ellie. Best friend. My best friend Ellie whose voice I couldn’t remember because she had never visited me.

Why didn’t my best friend in the entire fucking world bother to fucking visit me!?

“Where’s Ellie?” I asked Mom and Dad. They were willing to chat about anything and everyone until that moment. The silence was unbearable so I asked again. At that point my sight had slightly returned and I could see the shadows in their faces; the way their eyes met briefly before turning back on me. They changed the topic as if I hadn’t even asked. When Tate – the boy whose voice I remembered, but face did not – came to visit me later that day I regretted asking the question in the first place.

“Ellie ran away, Iz.” He sounded somber. I didn’t look at him. “A lot of her things were gone. Her mom put posters all over Mystic Falls because she doesn’t think Ellie left on her own. She thinks she might’ve been kidnapped or worse.”

“Why would she think so?”

“Probably because of the fumes.”

I didn’t ask further. I knew exactly what he meant.

I was allowed to leave the hospital sometime around August. I’d missed a majority of my senior year and was forced to repeat it. Mom and Dad kept pestering me about my newly acquired memories and I kept telling them the same things. They never mentioned the basement or 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉 though and, neither did I. One, because I didn’t want them to know that I know about their little shop of horrors and two, because my memories surrounding 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉 have already been foggy as it is. Having my parents’ lousy excuses as to what really happened in order to get the doctors off their backs muddied the waters even more. I think my brain is confused. Maybe talking to the other person that was in that room with me would clear things up, but I don’t know who that person is, little alone where to find them.

It’s already been a whole fucking year and my memories still haven’t come back. But my strength did and I’m finally ready to kick some vampire ass! And find out the truth about what really happened to me because fuck I forgot that that is also super important.

[emotions]

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• Until she met Ellie, Izaro strayed away from becoming best friends with people. Sure, her friendly demeanor and charm made it quite difficult to have people straying away from her, but there was always a part of Iz that kept certain relationship at a safe distance. And then came Ellie. “We’re not going to be best friends,” It’s what she said, but actions always speak louder than words and two hours later they were practically attached to the hip. They’d only been friends for four short months, but it meant a lot to Izaro. Ellie left a scar; an open wound she has no idea how to mend and most days, isn’t sure she wants to.

• After the events following 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉, Izaro was given Bernard, a five-year-old Doberman, who would serve as her guide dog. In truth, Iz didn’t technically, really need one – her eye sight had slowly started to come back, but her parents insisted, claiming she needed the support and companionship because they and her siblings were shit at it. Prior Bernard, Iz didn’t care much about animals. She was never the kid who begged her parents for a pet, because her parents never taught her or her siblings how to love or want one in the first place. But once Bernard came into the picture everything changed.

• Izaro’s eyesight is complicated. She never had problems with it before, but now three years later what was supposed to get better in time is only worsening. The occasional headaches, blur and fog is almost an everyday occurrence. Things get only worse at night. Unless she has a direct light source, Iz loses her sight completely. That pesky black veil falls over her eyes and she’s in the dark – quite literally. Because of this, she’s been advised to keep away from the dangers of the night and the monstrous, unknown things that lurk behind Mystic Falls’ corners. But Izaro is stubborn like that – once the night falls, she heads out with her trusty Bernard in hand. They think she’s putting herself in peril, but what they don’t know is that once her sight is gone, every other one of her senses is elevated.

• Gets bored incredibly easily; constantly needs to switch things up in order to keep herself interested and maybe that’s why her romantic relationships last only several short weeks; her hobbies even less and she feels a constant itch to pack her bags and run away. She was going to do it you know – her and Ellie were talking about it all the time. In the end Ellie was the only one brave enough to actually do it.

• Some of Izaro’s memories are still safely locked away in the back of her mind. There are days when she grows incredibly curious and does everything in her power to get to the bottom of the mystery, but most days she likes to live in ignorant bliss. Not all memories are as fond as she likes to believe. The ones involving the ugly things happening in her family’s basement are one of the worst. So she keeps them tucked away; thinking about them only when she feels the strongest. There’s a reason why her parents were so frightened of those memories coming back. Izaro knew too much; she was in too deep. But now, with most of them seemingly gone Layla and Ricardo believe what they have living their roof is yet another one hormonal angsty teenager.

• Never had a difficult time fitting in. From the moment she stepped foot in Mystic Falls, Izaro made friends with ease and quickly rose to the popular ranks. Her new town is classist; they appreciate a good rich family and Izaro’s was just the kind they liked. Well-dressed, educated, glamorous and charming. People quickly took interest and her parents’ charitable donations made the townies think they are the kindest people alive. She became a cheerleader during her freshman year; got herself an equally popular boyfriend and athlete. Sure her, friendship with the outcast was a thorn in one’s eye, but by that time almost everyone had gotten wind of Izaro’s stubbornness so they pretended it didn’t bother them. And then 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉 happened.

• Izaro’s 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉 certainly changed the way townies looked at her and the rest of her family. The story her parents were telling doctors and everyone who’d ask didn’t quite make sense. They were nervous, sweating – nothing like they usually behave and for some that meant they were scared for their child’s health and safety. Every parent would if their daughter had gone through as something as awful as …. 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉? What is this 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉 they speak of? Most times they are just saying words that technically make sense when put together, but when you stop and think about it, they actually don’t. People started whispering behind their backs. Suddenly, everyone is starting to notice that the Juarez family is not as normal as the rest. They are quite strange, aren’t they? And Izaro… she’s not quite shunned by her peers. Sure, the people she started school with have long graduated, but she’s still well liked. She has her alliance to thank for that.

• No one knows about Izaro’s nightly extracurricular activities. Most people that run into her think she’s taking her dog out on a walk or whatever, but the truth is much sinister. For the past three years, Izaro has been doing everything in her power to become a vampire hunter. Sure, in need to become a successful one she needs someone to train her, but she has no such connections so much like most things in her life, Iz has no one else but herself to rely on.

• Grows vervain in her room; a necklace with a vervain extract was given to her and her siblings on their first day of school in Mystic Falls. Her parents said it was a gift for being understanding; the best children a parent could ever ask for. Only later, when she started showing interest in vampire hunting, did Izaro discover the plant’s true purpose.

• All of her weapons are handmade – perks of taking all those woodshop classes (much to her mother’s distaste). Doing things herself also helps Izaro stay lowkey; if no one sees her purchasing such things, no one will know her true intentions. Izaro’s weapons include:

• Several handmade wooden stakes
• Vervain darts – no, not those fancy ones skilled hunters use. Izaro’s are actual darts – stolen from various grimy bars and soaked in vervain.
• Crossbow – incredibly proud of this one, especially since she made it after her accident. It took her a lot longer than she anticipated, but the end product is fantastic. Small, compact and perfect for shooting all those vervain-soaked darts she’s stolen over the years.
• Paintball gun – is Izaro a kleptomaniac? Possibly, but that’s not important because paintball guns are expensive and this was broken and of no use so she grabbed it from the field. It still needs some work done. Okay – a lot of work because she’s not completely skilled when it comes to actual machinery. Not that paintball guns are these epically complicated weapons. Izaro’s plan is to fill its tank with vervain. Not sure how helpful that’d be in battle, but it’s worth a try.
• Wooden bullets – now, all she needs is a gun.

• The mystery surrounding her best friend’s running away is somewhat of a fresh wound. From time to time she goes to check on her poor mother who claims their beloved Ellie was taken away. That the people she made nice with during the summer before Izaro’s arrival had something to do with Ellie’s departure. But that’s only half of the story – Ellie’s mother refuses to believe her daughter ran away on her own. She thinks someone took her or made her think she wants to. Perhaps that’s why three years later, she still puts up all those missing posters around town. Izaro refuses to believe vampires might have something to do with her best friend’s absence, but… her mind keeps wandering there and it leaves Izaro with an uncomfortable chill rolling down her spine.

[emotions]

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❝𝒟𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝒶𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓂𝑒𝒹
𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝓂𝓎 𝓃𝒶𝓂𝑒?❞
— Scott Street, Phoebe Bridgers

The Juarez family built their fortune in tech before selling it to some Silicon Valley businessman and making enough to cushion themselves for generations to come. Dr. Layla and Dr. Ricardo { yes, they both earned such a title } have used such funds to support their rather . . . inventive experiments. As tenured professors at Whitmore College, they expected their work on vampires to remain there. However, four years ago, Mystic Falls mayor begged for their help. They commuted at first. Nowadays, though, their home and labs are permanently in town, and Whitmore considers them to be on sabbatical for the most important research they've done yet. And they're not wrong. Layla and Ricardo are determined to turn vampires into cannibals. If humans are no longer prey, the predator is no longer the problem. Keeping Marco Leander locked up is only part of their work. No one would ever suspect them of such a twisted operation. Mystic Falls residents absolutely adore the new family. They're charitable and glamorous. They fit effortlessly into the way of life here.

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𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐀 𝐉𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐙
𝟓𝟕 • ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ • ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀꜱɪᴛʏ ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱᴏʀ & ᴠᴀᴍᴘɪʀᴇ ʀᴇꜱᴇᴀʀᴄʜᴇʀ
ʟᴏᴏᴋꜱ ʟɪᴋᴇ: ʀᴏꜱᴇʟʏɴ ꜱᴀɴᴄʜᴇᴢ

At fifty seven, she’d barely look her age if it weren’t for that long grey streak framing that beautiful face of hers; with her tall, slender frame and hair as dark as night, Layla Juarez is very aware of the effect she leaves on people and makes sure to use it to her advantage at all times. She knows people find her equally charming and intimidating – at almost 6’1 with her heart shaped face and tight-lipped smile. Her eyes are chestnut brown, the warmest shade in the color wheel and yet, hers are incredibly distant and cold – no one dares to stare at them out of fear of being frozen alive. When she speaks, it’s short and precise; she doesn’t care to waste time on people or words. She says what she says and leaves the other party intrigued. Her own parents were afraid of her; Izaro has seen the way her Abuelita trembles during those painstakingly long holidays. Her mother has never been warm; her mother was never meant to be a mother or fall in love and yet here she is: married with three children and a white picket fence. She’s feared and respected; gets everything she wants and doesn’t back away from a challenge. She doesn’t give praise or say I love you; you never know where her true loyalties lay because she doesn’t play favorites.

Much like with everything else in her life, she keeps her children at a safe distance. She can’t be bothered to be too attached with them and yet, is perpetually curious about the things that are happening in their lives because there’s nothing Layla loves more than to be in control of things. She has a way of finding out information; secrets people never even knew were keeping secret – she’s charming and convincing like that. Just like a vampire but instead of sucking blood, she sucks the life out of people. Izaro wonders if her mother had ever been in love; does she even love her father? She must, in order to have three children, but much like Layla’s eyes, their relationship is cold and emotionless. A business transaction of sorts. A way for her mother to escape a life of misery and poverty.

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𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐨 𝐉𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐳
𝟓𝟑 • ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ • ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀꜱɪᴛʏ ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱᴏʀ & ᴠᴀᴍᴘɪʀᴇ ʀᴇꜱᴇᴀʀᴄʜᴇʀ
ʟᴏᴏᴋꜱ ʟɪᴋᴇ: ᴇᴅɢᴀʀ ʀᴀᴍɪʀᴇᴢ

No one knows when Ricardo turned into the enigma he is today. They look at old photos of him and yeah – he’s always been the short, stocky dude from your wrestling team, but no one would predict a future where he is a well-respected doctor with a pretty model-like wife and three children. They always thought he’d venture into coding, like the rest of his family, but something changed in Ricardo when he met Layla Mendoza. In comparison to his wife, Ricardo is slightly bit more approachable; his thin mustache and blood shot eyes are a bit alarming, but his crooked smile and good-natured sense of humor makes up for all of his shortcomings. A respected oncologist and college professor, people had a very difficult time believing Ricard used to work best with children, before moving into their quant little time in order to help heal the great Marco Leander.

His relationship with his children is genuine, after all he was the one who wanted them in the first place. Never in his life did Ricardo think of them as a burden or as an obstacle on his road to greatness. And yet, his affections fade as year pass by and his children grow older. He swore he’d never become his father; the parent that picks favorites and yet there he is, putting his first and oldest, Blanca, on such a high pedestal despite her being a constant disappointment. Izaro can sense her father’s inner struggle; he’s not the man she used to joke around on the dining table when she was merely four years old – he’s grown cold and distant and a part of her can’t help but wonder whether it has something to do with that dreaded 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉 of hers.

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𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐀 𝐉𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐙
𝟐𝟐 • ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ • ʟᴏᴏᴋɪɴɢ ꜰᴏʀ ᴡᴏʀᴋ
ꜰᴀᴄᴇᴄʟᴀɪᴍ: ꜱᴀᴍ ꜱᴡᴀɴ

Great expectations were put on poor Blanca Juarez from the moment she was born. She had her mother’s beauty and father’s brain and all the resources in the world to become a successful young woman. Unfortunately, Blanca’s bright light was dimmed once two more equally beautiful and smart siblings followed. She knew that no matter what, she’d always remain her father’s favorite so she didn’t worry all too much. But everything changed once she started noticing her usually cold and uncaring mother show interest in her little sister Izaro . Blanca simply couldn’t understand what was so interesting about the little spaz. She didn’t know Izaro had only recently discovered the secrets of their family’s basement and took a liking to their mother’s twisted interest and became resentful towards her sister. Their rivalry grew and so did their petty arguments and fights. If it weren’t for their growing hatred towards one another, Blanca would’ve probably never gone away to college. But she needed to escape; her family was weird and stifling and she was a pretty flower destined to bloom.

With a useless degree in sociology (she only majored in that to impress her mother but her mother didn’t bat a single eye), she returns to a town that is still so foreign to her. No one knows or cares about her and quite frankly she couldn’t be bothered to know any of them either. Blanca has always been used to having people flock to her, not the other way around so now that no one seems to be interested in her magnetic presence and out of this world beauty, she becomes confused. Having no friends to occupy her time with, she spends most her days alone in her family home or her room. Her parents, but really mainly her father, is doing his best to find her a job just so he can get her out of the house and continue his extracurricular activities with the wife in peace. But Blanca has other plans.

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𝐌𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐉𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐙
𝟏𝟗 • ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ • ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴄʜᴏᴏʟ ꜱᴛᴜᴅᴇɴᴛ
ꜰᴀᴄᴇᴄʟᴀɪᴍ: ᴄʜʀɪꜱᴛᴏᴘʜᴇʀ ᴅᴏᴍɪɴɢᴜᴇᴢ

Miguel is often timed dubbed as the forgotten Juarez child – well, he used to be until he came to Mystic Falls and started pointing out just how problematic certain people and families are. The Juarez children have always been free thinkers and frankly, Ricardo and Layla never cared who their children will end up loving all while they did as they’re told and keep away from the basement. Much like his oldest sister Blanca, Miguel never really showed interest in their parents’ extracurricular activities and why would he? Whatever they were doing allowed them to leave a comfortable life; they were allowed pretty much everything as long as they brought home good grades and didn’t keep secrets. No – Miguel is not bitter that his parents forced him to come out before he was ready to, but a part of him can’t help but be thankful for the little push. If it weren’t for him, he’d probably still be in the closet.

The coming out changed Miguel’s life drastically. What was once a quiet, seemingly sheltered kid turned into an outspoken, smart mouth. If it weren’t for his keen interest in academics, 4.0 GPA and those gracious donations from his dear parents, he’d definitely be labeled as a problem child and spend most of his time in detention. Instead, he’s allowed to slip through the cracks; his charm and sweet smile forcing every teacher to make him their pet and write recommendations to colleges far, far away from Mystic Falls.

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𝐸𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒶𝓎, 𝓌𝑒'𝓇𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑒
𝐼'𝓁𝓁 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝒶 𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂
𝒜 𝒽𝒶𝓊𝓃𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶 𝓅𝒾𝒸𝓀𝑒𝓉 𝒻𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒
𝒯𝑜 𝒻𝓁𝑜𝒶𝓉 𝒶𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑔𝒽𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓈
— I Know the End, Phoebe Bridgers

People flock to me like metal on magnets and I welcome each and every one with open arms. I'm not used to having people care about me the way these people did. I'm special to them; fun and interesting. They ask me questions because they want to get to know me better, not to control me and use certain information as leverage for the future. Friends… I want friends. I need them. I need someone to prove to me that despite all the lack of love and affection I’ve turned out okay. That I am okay and not the monster my mother so gleefully chose to create overnight.

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𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐑 -𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞- 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐎𝐍
𝟏𝟗 • ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ • ʀᴜɴᴀᴡᴀʏ
ꜰᴀᴄᴇᴄʟᴀɪᴍ: ᴇʟʟɪᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛᴄʜᴇʀ

A girl from the wrong side of the tracks; raised by an addict of a mother and a ghost of a father, Ellie had no one else but herself to lean onto for a majority of her life. She didn’t care much about what people think of her – if she did, she’d probably turn into more of the mess her mother had become over the years. Working two part-times jobs since the age of thirteen in order to keep herself and her family afloat, Ellie never had time for friends or to be a kid. She had to survive, but everything changed once high school started and she was appointed to show the new girl around. Ellie knew the real reason as to why she was given this dull task: her middle school guidance counselor took pity in her after she completely broke down in her office after a night spent in the ER because her mother almost overdosed. “We’re not going to be best friends.” She had told the new girl. A week later they were practically attached to the hip.

They were as different as night and day or so they thought. Izaro might’ve had a family, but her parents barely cared whereas Ellie’s mother was always on something, but when she was sober, she was the best mother in the world. They shared secrets and clothes; Ellie made fun of Izaro’s rising popularity and Izaro tried to convince Ellie to join the mathletes. “You’re the smartest person I know.” She said, but Ellie refused to listen. Joining meant putting down roots and becoming a part of Mystic Falls was the last thing Ellie wanted to become. She wanted to be free; run away and never look back. Some nights, Izaro thinks the two of them actually did it. Made a plan to run away and never look back. But then 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉 happened all memory surrounding that night fades away. Izaro doesn’t know what happened to her best friend. She likes to believe she truly is free; driving around a beat-up Beatle in the middle of California heat, without a single worry in that pretty head of hers.

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𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐓
𝟐𝟎 • ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ • ꜱᴏᴘʜᴏᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴀᴛ ᴡɪɴꜱᴛᴏɴ ᴄᴏʟʟᴇɢᴇ
ꜰᴀᴄᴇᴄʟᴀɪᴍ: ꜱᴀꜱʜᴀ ᴠᴏʟᴏꜱᴀᴛᴏᴠ

Handsome, popular and athletic, Tate was the sophomore that took immediate interest in Izaro. He pursued her from day one and despite not being quite her type, she allowed him to completely sweep her off her feet. They were a couple for two whole months before 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉 happened and Izaro completely lost touch of both herself and her surroundings. And although it seemed as if she had given up, Tate didn’t. He spent every night and day in the hospital waiting room, pestering her parents about Izaro’s wellbeing and whether or not she had woken up yet. Of course they saw him as a nuisance; an obstacle or some sorts and wondered what their daughter ever saw in this generic equivalent of a Ken doll. He’s boring and not that smart, but he has a kind heart and a generous soul and most importantly seemed to love their daughter. Not that they cared. But, Izaro was in desperate need of a distraction so they let him linger and bring their daughter fresh flowers, homework and occasionally hold her hand.

When Izaro eventually woke up Tate was her number one source of gossip. He told her stories about people she had yet to remember; filled in the gaps of her missing memories and be the moral support she never knew she needed. Eventually, Izaro’s memories returned, but her feelings for Tate did not. He claimed he wasn’t bothered by it; her friendship was just enough but every now and then, when they were alone, she’d catch him staring at her lips. She was set to repeat freshman year and Tate, despite his terrible excuse of a GPA offered to tutor her. Currently he’s attending Winston College on a lacrosse scholarship. He still claims he wants to be friends, but his conversations always carry this flirty tone so Izaro never knows where he truly stands. She wants to cut him off – his awful puns have never been that funny to start with, but a part of her feels guilty for even thinking that. He was there when she was going through her worst. Sure, he probably did it because he thought he might finally get entrance in her pants, but still….