𝙷𝟷𝙶𝙷 𝙶𝙴𝙰𝚁 .ᐟ

❛ ⸻  BASICS.

full  name  :  isabel alice dove riveras.

nickname(s) : isa.

date of birth : november 9th, 1996.

age  :  29.

zodiac : scorpio sun, sagittarius moon, libra rising.

gender, sexuality, + pronouns : cis woman, bisexual, + she / her.

birthplace  :  são paulo, brazil ( 1996 - 2009 ).

past locations : miami, florida, united states, ( 2009 - 2020 ), dallas, texas ( may 2020 - july 2020 ), all over the world ( july 2020 - august 2023 ).

current location : dallas, texas ( 2023 - present ).

positive traits : curious, daring, dedicated, endearing, worldly.

negative traits : adrift, avoidant, suspicious, tense, undisciplined.

language(s)  spoken  :  english, portuguese, spanish, italian ( conversational ), french ( conversational ), asl, german ( conversational ), japanese.

❛ ⸻  AT A GLANCE.

GOLD HOOPS AND GREASE STAINS. SUN - WARMED SKIN BENEATH STADIUM LIGHTS. DARK HAIR PULLED BACK WITH WHATEVER ELASTIC SHE FOUND FIRST. MOTOR OIL SMUDGED ACROSS SOFT HANDS. PORTUGUESE CURSES MUTTERED THROUGH A HALF - SMILE. ICED COFFEE LEFT TO SWEAT ON THE HOOD OF A CAR. A PASSPORT FULL OF STAMPS AND NO REAL PLAN. SUNRISE WALKS HOME WITH YESTERDAY’S MASCARA STILL ON. THE KIND OF GIRL WHO CAN FIX AN ENGINE FASTER THAN SHE CAN EXPLAIN WHAT SHE’S RUNNING FROM.

❛ ⸻   THE STORY.

trigger warnings : immigration, financial i nstability, childhood instability, parentification, injury / rehabilitation mention, emotional avoidance, family conflict, reckless behaviour, unstable housing mention, classism, and self - sabotage

isabela was born in são paulo, brazil, in a home that was never quiet for long. there was always music playing somewhere, someone talking over someone else, the smell of food drifting through too-small rooms, and the low, familiar hum of survival running underneath everything.

her parents worked long hours, often taking whatever jobs they could to keep the family steady, which meant Isa learned young that love did not always look soft. sometimes it looked like tired hands, rushed dinners, bills spread across the table, and her older brother mateo making sure she ate, got to school, and stayed out of trouble while pretending he was not still a kid himself. she loves him fiercely for everything he gave up for her, but she also resented how easily he slipped into protector mode, like her life was another game he had to manage from behind the plate.

because of that, mateo became more than just her brother. he was part guardian, part best friend, part enemy when he got too bossy, and one of the first people Isa learned how to fight with honestly. their bond was loud, loyal, and complicated from the start. teo helped raise her, but isa never let him forget that she was not his responsibility forever.

where mateo found his rhythm in sports, isa found hers in the organized chaos of her tios auto shop. she spent hours tucked between toolboxes, old tires, and open hoods, watching her tio work until the language of engines started to make more sense than most people did. she learned the difference between a temporary fix and a real repair, how to listen for what was wrong before anyone else noticed it, and how patience could turn a dead engine over again.

by the time other kids were still figuring out what they wanted to be, isa already knew the feel of motor oil under her nails and the satisfaction of making something broken move again. mechanics became more than a skill; it became the first place she ever felt useful, capable, and completely herself.

when the rivera left brazil for miami in 2009, isa was old enough to understand that everything was changing but too young to have any say in it.

but, in hindsight, the move cracked her world open. suddenly, she was caught between languages, cultures, expectations, and so many versions of herself that she didn't know who to be. portuguese stayed in her mouth like home, english became necessity, and spanish slipped into her life through friends, neighbours, and the rhythm of miami itself. she adapted quickly on the outside, but underneath it all, isa always felt a little unmoored. she became good at making friends, good at making people laugh, good at seeming easier than she actually was. if she did not know where she belonged, she could at least make herself wanted wherever she landed.

cars became one of the few things that made sense to her. engines were straight-forward in a way people rarely were. if something was wrong, there was a reason. if something broke, you could trace the damage, take it apart, clean your hands, and try to make it run again.

isa started hanging around garages once mateo was busier with baseball, first because she liked the noise and the freedom, then because she realized she had a natural eye for mechanics. it also gave her something solid at a time when everything else in her life felt temporary. while mateo chased baseball, isa chased motion in her own way, restless for something she could not name.

by the time mateo’s career took him through instability, injuries, couches, minor league uncertainty, and eventually dallas, isa had seen nearly every version of him.

she saw the exhausted brother who still insisted he was fine. the proud one who would rather suffer in silence then admit he was scared. the patient in rehab pretending his knee injury had not shaken him to his core. she knew his tells better than almost anyone, and because of that, she never bought the calm, unreadable act the way everyone else did. to isa, mateo was never just the respected catcher or the steady clubhouse presence. he was still teo, her teo. the boy who helped raise her, the man who carried too much, and the brother she could annoy into honesty when no one else could get close.

isa first came to dallas in may of 2020, during a period when her own life was starting to feel too tight around her. whether she told herself she was there for mateo, for a fresh start, or just because she had nowhere better to go, the truth? it's that it was probably all three.

dallas had heat, noise, sports, money, pride, and enough chaos to keep her distracted. but isa never stayed still easily. after only a short stretch in the city, she left again, spending the next few years moving from place to place, picking up work where she could, meeting people she probably should not have trusted, learning how to survive in unfamiliar cities, and collecting stories she only tells when she is drunk, tired, or trying to avoid talking about something more important.

those years made her worldly, but they did not necessarily make her settled. isa learned how to flirt her way into a room, talk her way out of trouble, fix a car in three languages, and leave before anyone could ask too much of her.

in august of 2023, isa returned to dallas, because she missed her brother. she found work as a mechanic at high gear auto, a place that suited her better than she expected. the job gave her routine without making her feel trapped, noise without too many questions, and something to do with her hands when her thoughts got too loud.

isa is trying to convince herself that dallas is just another stop, another temporary chapter, another place she can leave if things get too real. but mateo is here. work is here. pieces of a life are starting to gather around her whether she asked for them or not. for the first time in years, staying might be the scarier choice than running. and for a girl who has spent most of her life chasing motion, isa may finally have to figure out who she is when she stops moving.

❛ ⸻   HEADCANONS.

isa keeps a tiny são paulo keychain on her car keys. it is scratched to hell and barely readable now, but she refuses to replace it.

she learned most of her mechanic skills by watching her uncle first, then annoying him with questions until he finally handed her tools just to shut her up.

she drinks iced coffee at all hours of the day, even when it has gone watery and warm from sitting out too long.

isa curses mostly in portuguese when she is angry, but switches to english when she wants someone to understand exactly how mad she is.

she has a messy little collection of souvenirs from everywhere she travelled between 2020 and 2023: matchbooks, hotel pens, postcards, ticket stubs, cheap jewelry, and foreign coins she never bothered to exchange.