there's little that endears iris more to someone than being good with animals. she watches with unveiled amusement, her lips curling up into a delighted smirk. " that's xenomorph. she prefers xeno, though; i think she resents being named by an eleven year old. she likes you. " she shrugs, nodding along with leia's words. " i love it. claim the energy -- " a pause, " you know, i feel like i'm getting deja vu. everyone coming in here has been talking about their new cat. maybe they're your roommates? or maybe there's a cat invasion in palmview. score. "
iris watches the interaction from her perch on the cash register's stool with a soft smile. the fumbled affection amuses her, and she tilts her head just a bit. " the recent one is your first one, huh? cute. " xeno leans forward, pausing to sniff around isabel's sweater again. iris lets out a little laugh. " probably, though โย she's kind of a nosy bitch. what kind of cat you got? " like they're trading lurid secrets.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย โ itโs a secret third thing, โ says quinn, eyeing xeno and giving them a friendly grin. irisโ cat probably thinks heโs another useless yet harmless guy โ key here is harmless.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย โ i got something here, โ he adds, fishing something from his baggy jeans pocket and setting it down on the glass countertop. โ itโs got a tag that says โif found, kindly return to shores herbalist shopโ. โ quinn unwraps the folded tissue paper, revealing a necklace with a gemstone and a small tag. โ it looks like black kryptonite โ pretty sure i saw my evil twin streaking down the country club. โ after shaking his head in amusement, he leans against the counter and looks at iris. โ seriously, do you know this stone? is it onyx or something like that? โ
xeno sniffs at the sleeve of quinn's shirt before letting out a little snort and walking away. iris can't help but let out a little laugh. " she said she thinks you're lame. " the brunette eyes quinn as he walks up to her, like she's thinking โ studying. really, she's just trying to see the necklace. she should probably get glasses. " mmm, it's definitely ours alright โ you're a nerd, by the way, " said with great affection as she takes the necklace into her hand to inspect the stone. " it's onyx. shields you from bad energy ... where'd you find it? maybe it meant to find you. "
"oh! hello." kai greets the cat, gently, lifting his hand so she can sniff the back of it if she'd like. "i think i did manifest this, actually. ...and we did just get a cat at home, so... maybe she's smelling him." her? they weren't sure yet, a trip to the vet in the next week would give them the answer. "...what does the moldavite do?"
" i love to see people putting cat energy out into the universe. i think everyone should have a little cat in their life, y'know?" iris asks playfully, nodding. " probably, yeah -- are they a kitten? she's weirdly fascinated with little ones. sometimes i get scared she's gonna eat them. " why would she say that? she shrugs. " well, moldavite is known for bringing about change in your life -- not bad or good change, necessarily, but change; some people say it's pretty drastic. i always advise not to carry it or work with it unless you're prepared for what energies you're bringing in, you know? "
" welcome in. " the customer-service-lilt in iris's voice lifts up the otherwise flippant greeting, a call-and-response to the bell above the door ringing. " we have sales on crystals today, but i don't recommend the moldavite unless you're ready for โ " ' mrrow '. iris's head snaps towards the sound at the same second xenomorph decides to jump from a high shelf onto whatever counter her guest had stopped in front of. oops. " oof โ she's nice, i swear. s'why boss lets me keep her in here โ you got salmon treats in your pocket or did you just manifest a cat today ? "
[ โฆ ] โ youโre not from around here , are you? i figured because you totally just missedย { IRIS BARRERAย } walking by. donโt tell me you donโt know who {ย SHEย } is? they kind of look likeย { INDE NAVARETTEย } and i could be wrong but i think that they might be {ย 26ย } years old right now. theyโve been living in palmview for the last {ย 26 YEARS }. and i donโt know if anyone has ever told them this before but they kind of remind me ofย { ALEX RUSSO }ย fromย { WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE }. if you stick around the town long enough you might catch them in action working atย { SHORES HERBALIST SHOP }ย as aย { CLERK }. you see this town isnโt really that big of a place, some folks like to call them theย { FLIGHT RISK }ย of palmview! they took a liking to the name too after a while, go figure. oh crap, they must have heard me yapping. theyโre coming this way. i got to warn you though, rumor has it they can prettyย { FICKLE }ย at times. i wouldnโt take it too seriously though, from the times iโve spoken to them they seemed prettyย { SHARP }ย to me. we see each other all the time since they live in thatย { HOUSE #124 }ย residenceย beside me over inย { BAYPOINT COAST }. i better leave you to it. it was nice meeting you!
โ ส๐ฆนษ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐จ .แ
full name:ย iris guadalupe barrera
nicknames:ย ris, lupe by her family
date + place of birth:ย april 28 in palmview, fl
age: twenty6
pronouns + gender:ย cisgender woman
sexuality: bisexual
traits: adaptable, avoidant, playful, resourceful,ย observational, blunt, unserious :/, fickle, most chalant nonchalant person ever, impulsive, judgmental (in spite of herself), generous, restless, self-assured
style: tiny tops + baggy jeans, converse, mini skirts, leather jackets, chunky shoes, random quirked up accessories, chipped nail polish, wired headphones, tote bag upon tote bag
media parallels:ย alex russo (wizards of waverly place), juno macguff (juno), andy sachs (the devil wears prada), kiri (avatar), suki (avatar: the last airbender)
iris has never felt ... normal. always like she's in skin that doesn't fit, in a place she's too big (too small? too much? too little? she'll never know) for.
growing up was fine, really -- nothing to write home about, she says. two older sisters, a little brother her parents had in a last ditch attempt to save their marriage -- iris could've told them that wouldn't work at age 9 when they tried.
her parents divorce at 10 and things never really feel normal again after. moving between houses and getting bullied at school becomes her life and she retreats in on herself to deal with it. iris's friends, though few and far between, are her saving graces.
sometime near the end of middle school and beginning of high school, she starts getting attention (positive, this time) and she doesn't know how to deal with it. cue identity crisis and the thought that if no one is really there for her, she has to be there for herself.
she graduates near the top of her class in relative obscurity and secures a ride to cornell. up north, she figures out, is more her scene, even if she can't shake palmview and leave it behind.
when she was younger, she wanted to be a journalist, but she opted to major in psychology because she thought it would be easier to get a job. haha.
after graduating she's floated back to palmview -- iris has been back for a month or so now, feeling inadequate and alone like she's 11 again. yippee for new beginnings! or whatever.
tl;dr: mildly invisible and local weird girl next door leaves her town to go to college and realizes shit sucks everywhere. armed with a fuckass psych degree and no plans in life, iris feels aimless in a way she never has before. she's hoping moving out and (attempting) to start fresh will make her feel like she has purpose again, but only time will tell. prepare for fuckshit and silliness in the mean time!
โ ส๐ฆนษ ๐๐๐จ .แ
vehemently opposed to and avoidant to love. she thinks it's fake (and thinks you should mind your business when you catch her crying to romance movies)
kind of a tough nut to crack in general. it always feels like she's conceding just enough information to make you feel like you know her, but not enough to actually know her. she, personally, doesn't think there's much to know.
shameless flirt, not always intentionally. itโs in her dna.
divorced parents, she was a suitcase kid for much of her adolescence. they got back together when she left for college and her brother started middle school and iris thinks it's both fucked up and weird. she's normal about this, obviously. don't ask.
will take money in exchange for hexes. it's one of her favorite things to do! don't tell her boss. (also offers her services on etsy. how accessible!)
bit of a nerd. loves to talk about her interest (and talk in general, really) to whoever will listen. really, i could go on.
"the flight risk" taken literally. the type of friend you should expect might not go to movie night but will always pick you up off the side of the road when your car breaks down. it's a give and take.
growing up was kind of the local weird girl. always fun to hang with, sure, but the constant presence of a bug in her hand would kind of get to people. whatever :/
when she โglew upโ (read: grew up) it was still odd for her to navigate people no longer being weird around her or off put by her. she has no issues with this, clearly (impostor syndrome and thinking no one truly likes her yk yk the vibes). the trauma of being a weird and slightly offputting kid fr
can sometimes come off a bit dry/standoffish/defensive as a result. sheโs trying really hard not to be, she swears.
comes back every summer and every holiday. she says she hates this place soooo much and yet where is she every time she has the choice โฆ smh โฆ
has a cat named xenomorph, xeno for short. loves her very very deeply.
is an active and engaged participant in the d&d campaign shes currently in. she takes it all very seriously.
the girl, so confusing (perhaps wanted connection?): based off of the song by charli n lorde obvi. someone who truly wants to be friends w iris but canโt help but be put off by her standoffish nature vs iris who only thinks sheโd bring down their awesome life n truly wants to be friends as well. yuuuup.
typical besties please .... would love friends for her she is so full of love
she may be nonconfrontational and trying to be nonchalant but ... ! rivals, enemies (whether it's one sided or mutual)... gimme it all !
a will they won't they ... juicy. can be based entirely off chem but i think it would be quite fun :3 perhaps it's been a while and every time she comes back into town it reignites. mhm mhm.
hear me out ... who bullied her ???? like that could be juicy. hit me up. she loooves to hold a grudge (or not?)
childhood friends i LOOOOVE a childhood friend connection c'mon please? please?
quick ones oooh: confidant, party friends (babygirl loooooves the club), smoking friends (she loves to get high as fuck and play stupid video games guys), frenemies, acquaintances from random places, maybe even a crush (requited or otherwise ... ooooo. please know she's pathetic), exes (she's awful, was prob her fault), fwbs (she's still awful), anything our brains come up with
the aforementioned d&d campaign members โฆ watch out for an actual connection for that.
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