Name: Lola Grimes
Age: 19
Profession: Unemployed
Gender: Female (she/her)
Species: Vampire
PEOPLE ARE STRANGE:
â Careful, Composed, Open-minded, Respectful
â Indecisive, Self-deprecating, Secretive, Anxious
WHEN YOUâRE A STRANGER:
âŁSTATUS:
Face claim: Dove Cameron
Availability: Taken by Tabby
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Abuse, Suicide
Lolaâs last name isnât Grimes, but she isnât sure what is. Her mother gave her up for adoption at birth and wanted no contact, and as newborns tend to be, she was taken in just hours after her birth. Her story could have started and ended there, but when she was three her adoptive parents claimed they had some financial difficulties, and were unable to keep her. She was immediately snapped up by the Grimes family, who were enchanted by her gentle, open face and her delicate blonde curls.
Their reasoning was shallow at best, but it was more selfish than the little toddler could have imagined. The Grimes family were showmen, running an illusions-of-the-mind type show in a rundown little alley off the Las Vegas Strip. Young as she was, Lola didnât do a great deal of work for yearsâ - she learned to shuffle cards and read people, and tricks of the trade involving the manipulation of audiences. She made her debut at 8 years old, and the dingy little theatre that housed their performances was almost half full. Quite a turnout, for their scummy operation.
And word got out, fast. The rest of the performers were two a penny, but Lola was something else. The Grimesâ couldnât have been happier: though they never learned of the truth behind her stage skills. When she had been adopted as a newborn, it had been by vampires. They were looking for a protege, and wanted to raise a child from birth into their ways. They hadnât realised, however, how much trouble children could be, so she was returned to the adoption centreâ - but not before they had turned the infant child into one of them. The Grimesâ simply put her unusual skill at mental manipulation down to their excellent training, and Lola⌠well, Lola was confused. Her stage tricks were one thing, but she couldnât explain her hungers. Having been diagnosed with a sun allergy at a young age, everyone was used to her nocturnal comings and goings. What they didnât notice was her sneaking off after shows to kill the odd farm animal.
Terrified of what she might be, and not understanding it in the least, her stress over her unnatural behaviour began to affect her shows. And on those days, her adoptive parents wouldnât be happy. They would punish her: usually by locking her in a closet and refusing her food, and occasionally with violence. This became Lolaâs life for yearsâ - she performed, and did it well, and when she didnât she suffered the consequences.
Quiet and meek, she was content to go along with most things. Any attention drawn to herself meant risking people learning about her nighttime excursions. All it took was one moment of teenage rebelliousness to turn her tenuous position on its head: after a bad show, with less than ten people in the audience, her father was shoving her into the closet. Perhaps she hadnât fed recently enough, or perhaps she was just tired of the status quo, but for the first time Lola retaliated. Not physically, as she was a fragile slip of a thing next to her father; no, all she did was raise her voice. She hadnât thought her words were even that terribleâ âWhy donât you just go hang yourself?â And yet, a slack look slipped over his face, and he drifted vaguely away.
Lola hid in her room, fearing the retribution that would surely follow, but: nothing. After half an hour, she crept out and tapped on his office door. Nothing. She pushed the door slowly open, and was confronted with the sight of his corpse swinging from the rafters, eyes and tongue bulging bluely from his bloated face. She doesnât remember much after that, only sirens, and rough policemen asking her questions she didnât understand. Somewhere amidst the investigation, a member of the vampire council from Ithacaâ - they had apparently caught wind of her actions, and they werenât terribly subtle. Nobody wanted to be exposed.
Suffice to say, Lola didnât take the news well. At first she was furious that they would have the gall to tell her such outright lies about vampires and magic. And then, she was heartbroken that she had spent nineteen years loathing herself when really she was just ignorant of her identity. She came along to Ithaca without much debate, evading police detection, and has been here only a small number of months.
Though she knows a few of the other vampires, to whom she was introduced on arrival, she avoids them. She avoids everything, if she can. Itâs clear that Lolaâs power of compulsion is strong, though untrained, and sheâs terrified to ask anything of anyone in case it goes wrong and she hurts someone once more. She spends most of her time tending the small allotment she has gained, growing sweet potatoes, ginger, parsnips, anything she can get seeds forâ - the money she gets for selling them at the market is small, but enough to feed her. It isnât enough to find her lodgings, unfortunately, and sheâs sleeping rough for now. She puts away what she can, though itâs only pennies, and one day hopes to be able to find somewhere to rent.
