ꕀ ᐝ 𖠳 melissa barrera, cis woman, she/her 𖠳 ᐝ ꕀ ‷ heads up ; if you hear LIFE IS A HIGHWAY by RASCAL FLATTS blaring, it’s most likely KARINA DELGADO making their way down the shore ! they’re 30 years old and celebrate their birthday on 01/20 - i knew they were an AQUARIUS ! especially since they’re very HEADSTRONG and RECKLESS. they are from DENVER, COLORADO, staying in DOWNTOWN and are currently working as a BARTENDER AT THE BOILER ROOM, here at the cape. they always did remind me of long nights spent in a jail cell, loud music blasting through her earbuds, and drag racing with friends.‷
karina juliana delgado was born and raised on january 20th, 1993 as the eldest child of felipe & katherine delgado in denver, colorado.
growing up, karina's life had been far from perfect and she would hear her parents arguing often, due to them growing up in extreme poverty. due to this, a young karina always tried her best to help around the house and tried her hand at so many odd jobs throughout her childhood in order to make ends meet.
from lemonade stands to doing other kids homework for a small fee, she truly was trying to get her parents to stop arguing, but nothing seemed to work and by the time karina had turned 8, she would watch as her father angrily walked out of her childhood home and head to the local bar. not coming back home until late at night. this only made her parents arguments even worse, as her mother had assumed that her father had been cheating on her, and it was always karina that had comforted her younger siblings whenever they could hear the occasional throwing of glasses and them raising their voices.
due to this, karina had to grow up way before she was ready to grow up and had to step it up not just for herself, but her younger sibling as well. whenever her younger sibling needed help with something, she was always the one to do so, and often did the cooking and the cleaning around the house as well, as both of her parents had either been too busy yelling at each other or drinking their sorrows away to do so. ever since then, karina has had a deep hatred for both of her parents and how they continued to neglect her and her younger sibling, promising her younger sibling that one day they'd get out of their god forsaken home together.
when it had come time for karina and her younger sibling to start high school, she was incredibly envious of the way that all of her friends and classmates dressed, and wanted to look the way that they did. the only problem? her family was broke as shit, so she did what she had to do and started shoplifting from the local department stores near her childhood home. it had been going so well for most of her adolescence, as none of the workers ever noticed her doing so, but it all took a turn when a karen ratted her out for 'stealing' the shirt she was going to get her daughter, just like her 'people' had been stealing everyone's jobs since the beginning of time. of course karina was quick to give the woman a black eye before the cops had come, not regretting it for a second, but this was the first time that her parents had actually helped her out with something since she was a kid by being the very ones to bail her out with the very little money they had, not before letting her spend the night to learn her lesson though.
after the fact, things went back to normal and her parents continued to neglect karina and her sibling, which is why she continued doing petty crimes in her neighborhood to the point that the local police department practically knew her name. it was during one of said times spent in a jail cell that karina had met one of her best friends in the entire world, katherine, who quickly became her partner in crime and the two girls went from doing petty crimes to more extreme crimes. kat had been the local drug dealer in her neighborhood and it didn't take her long before recruiting karina for her incredible determination, the two girls dealing in the same spot every night, behind their local high school.
for the longest time it had all been going so well until kat started using from their own supply, although karina had promised her that she would never rat her out. however, it had been one of their clients that had noticed a slight dip in their drugs and had asked both girls what had happened to it, kat accidentally ratting herself out while high, which caused both of them to lose their jobs.
despite this, kat had convinced karina to use with her, especially since they were both basically unemployed anyway and the two began using from the same supply. deciding to attend a local university party that kat had managed to get herself invited to, the two girls were the true life of the party until both of them had gotten injured, that is. it was on their drive back home that kat's vision was funky due to drinking and using all night and the two had crashed right into an oncoming car, karina was okay thankfully, but kat had died that day sadly. despite karina being the voice of reason of the two, she feels like the accident had been entirely her fault, especially since she allowed it to happen.
for the longest time, the young girl had fell into a depressive episode due to one of her best and only friends dying only mere months of knowing her. similar to her parents, karina drowned her sorrows in alcohol and didn't come home until dawn, despite her young age at the time, and the only guiding light for her had been her younger sibling, the only person that managed to make her smile even during her worst days. instead of going to therapy, the older delgado decided to keep a journal and writes in it often whenever she is feeling sad or low, an idea that she had gotten from her younger sibling.
during one of her depressive episodes, karina had come across a drag race near her neighborhood and decided to watch out of curiosity, instantly falling in love with the sport. not long after watching said race, karina had been invited by one of the males that had been doing this for a while and raced one of his rivals, successfully winning the race, and earning herself a spot on his team. this team quickly became like a second family to her, more than her actual family, and she quickly went from being an emotional wreck to being happy again.
years later, karina was able to "earn" some money even if it wasn't exactly legally, and decided to move to cape may with her younger sibling, finally keeping the promise that she had made with them to get them out of their chaotic childhood home and it didn't take long for her drag racing team to follow either.
