Character Name: Luana Altagracia Castillo Age: 19 Birthday: 17th Feburary
Personality: Luana can best be summed up as a bit of a hippie: she's big on all things natural - her shampoos, moisturizers, etc are all the most earth-friendly possible, and she will shy away from buying things with too much plastic packaging. She believes deeply in repairing and protecting the earth, but also in the protection of human beings. She doesn't think one has to suffer for the other to thrive. In fact, Luana thinks she would suit nothing better than a complete return to nature. (She isn't right about herself: she'd miss the internet, she'd miss access to world news, she'd miss a lot of modern conveniences she is sure she could live without.)
She tries not to be hard on the people around her, living by that old saying 'be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle'. Sometimes this is more difficult because people can be jerks. She tries to smile and breathe through it. Nasty folk aren't worth it to hate. It's better to just ignore their bad energy. (She's all about the 'energy' of things/places/people.) She is politically aware and would like to be more politically active, but has never done (and doesn't think she would ever do) anything illegal, especially now that she's living somewhere that she could be deported from.
She's a big reader, especially speculative fiction/sci-fi, and her kindle is always with her. (She loves physical books, but knows ebooks are better for the environment than all that paper.)
• has a tattoo of a blue and purple dragon on her ankle that she got when she was sixteen and she hates it so much. It's super embarrassing to her now. • has a pet green tree frog called Tabitha • is pretty sure she's attracted to women at least a little bit, but isn't ready to explore that yet. • doesn't drink, but she does smoke a bit of pot now and then. • super into the 1930's pinup look but is pretty sure she could never pull it off herself.
History: Born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, by a single mother alongside a non-identical twin sister and an older brother. She's never met her father, but he was pretty much a deadbeat so it was no loss to anyone in the family and they were happy as they were. Her grandparents were rather wealthy and rather lovely and thus money wasn't a problem for them when Luana was growing up. She was raised Catholic, but not overtly so. (She still considers herself to be Catholic now, but she's pretty much lapsed by now, although she still attends church once a month or so) [OTHER THINGS] In high school she was popular and stubborn and determined to change the world. She dyed her hair green and sang in a punk-rock cover band of fellow school mates called Pixxxie Dust. They weren't exactly doing much in the way of gigs, but they did get to play at their prom.
She moved to London last September to study Environmental/Ecological Engineering (focusing on sustainability) and to be with her online boyfriend of six months. It was a little bit spontaneous but Luana knew they were meant to be together forever and so it was worth it. But the relationship only lasted to Christmas, with the two of them quickly discovering that in real life that just didn't click. They still talk occasionally, but mostly only see each other in passing now. Luana isn't too upset about it, and she's not disappointed that she made the huge shift to England to study.