About Keely
KEELY JULIET HARPER
32
VETERINARIAN AT AQUATICA
DOWNTOWN (SUNSET RIDGE)
TW: Middle Child Syndrome, Death
Keely Juliet Harper was born July 24, 1991, to Amelia and Jack Harper. Growing up, she always felt loved by her parents but when you’re the middle child, you tend to get overlooked, between the oldest and most rebellious sister and the baby who can do no wrong, Keely’s relationship with both her parents was strained. She felt like an outcast and ignored. Her best relationship growing up was with the dolls she played doctor with alone in her room. Her voice was never heard and when she came home crying after a bad day at school, it was overshadowed by baby sister whining or older sister yelling. She never felt like a true part of the family no matter how hard she tried. She was the mediocre child that is just there. To this day, her relationship with her parents is just as strained and while she still visits, its never for long because while she was the one who went on to become a vet, that pales in comparison to baby sister’s career.
She has always loved animals. Even at an early age, she knew she wanted to work with them in whatever capacity existed. She isn’t your typical animal lover though. Whereas most people want the four legged variety, Keely loved the aquatic animals. She was fascinated by the idea of an entire underwater ecosystem and habitat living in harmony with one another and wanted to learn more about it so she started reading every book she could find on the subject. That’s not to say she doesn’t love dogs and cats, she just prefers the ones with scales/slippery skin. She is the proud owner of 4 fish and a turtle, all named after Shakespearean characters: Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, Lysander, Oberon, and Puck the Turt* (see end of this bio for photo reference)
She knew she wanted to be an aquatic vet for the first time when she rescued her fish from a disastrous fate. She was dancing in her room and knocked over her fish bowl, causing immediate duress to Mr. Gwilliam Grumps III. Seeing him gasping for air made her cry and she immediately threw him into the toilet until she could find him a new bowl to live in… she had no idea he would escape through the plumbing… to this day she wonders how his life turned out.
To most people, she could be considered a nerd, or weird, for her beliefs. She swears she saw a spaceship once thereby confirming the existence of aliens and strongly concurs with Bigfoot enthusiasts that they do in fact live among us. She loves watching shows about Cryptids and other unexplainable things, but especially the paranormal. If she hadn’t made it through vet school, she would have become a paranormal investigator. Don’t get her started on her many ghost stories because she will never stop talking. Period dramas/fantasy are her genre of choice but she doesn’t mind a good horror movie once in a while.
Keely does not own a car. She commutes everywhere on her scooter. She likes to feel the wind in her hair, the smell of the fresh air as she rides through town. She tends to feel a bit claustrophobic in cars so when she got her license, she bought herself a new scooter. It has a few dings and dents but she’s reliable and Keely has not once considered trading it in for a car.
Keely 100% believes she is cursed when it comes to matters of the heart, thereby she does not fall in love or give her heart away. She is fine with flings/brief courtships but when things start feeling serious, she will leave and walk away. She doesn’t talk about why she feels this way, not wanting to hear the typical ‘its just bad luck’ ‘you couldn’t have known’ condolences she has heard for years. She cannot fall in love with people because when she does, they die.
Her first attempt at love was in high school. His name was Kierian and he was the love of her young love. They were going to get married and start a family once he got out of the military and her veterinary practice took off. It was fun to talk about and plan with her sisters because it was something she believed in 100%… and then tragedy struck. Kierian drowned on vacation during his senior trip. He was swimming in the hotel pool and got a cramp in his leg while in the deep end and before anybody had realized anything was wrong, he had stopped breathing. The doctors said it was a 1 in a million accidental drowning but Keely felt like her world was over. She loved him and he left her. ‘There will be others. You’ll fall in love again.’ No I won’t’ She replied. ‘He had my entire heart.’
But she did move on. She met Samantha in Vet school and even though she was scared, she opened herself up to the idea of love again. They fell in love very quickly and Keely was the happiest she’d been since Kierian. They discussed marriage and had even moved in together, ready to start their lives in their practice. The day started like any other. Keely woke up, made their coffee, went to nudge her girlfriend awake as they had their final exam that day. It was important and she knew that Sam had stayed up the night before, despite complaining of a headache, studying for it. When 15 minutes had passed and Sam still hadn’t woken up, Keely went to check on her…
They pronounced her dead at 9:02am, a time that will stick with her for the rest of her life. The exact moment her heart broke for good. A brain aneurysm they said. One she had not known she had. It had ruptured on her in her sleep. She had been dead for hours and Keely hadn’t known. She wondered if she could have done something different, if she had paid better attention, Samantha might be alive. Losing her only confirmed what Keely now knows to be true about herself: loving her was toxic. Everyone she loves dies. Well, never again. She refuses to let herself fall for anyone again.
She buries herself in her work, ensuring that she doesn’t have time for a social life. She would not survive another death in her life. She knows that if you looked at it from an outside perspective, she was playing her partners, perhaps giving them false hope for a relationship but she can’t help how they feel, she comes with a disclaimer and its not her fault that they choose to ignore this, even if they don’t know about it.
ACTIVITIES:
VINO SPELL TRIVIA NIGHTS SHOP CLASS (LOL) READY SET CLEAN READ BETWEEN THE WINES OPEN MIC NOVA CONSERVATION LGBTQIA+ HANDS ON GAME ON COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS
**OPHELIA
LADY MACBETH
LYSANDER
OBERON
PUCK




















