personality
demi is loud, extroverted to a fault. she thrives off of the attention of those around her, with such a big personality. she always has another story to share, an anecdote, a joke or a quip. that's just how she was raised, always around people. she's caring to an extent- demi doesn't like to see people suffer, but if she sees someone digging their own grave, she will not stop them. she will offer advice and help as she can, but if they choose not to change or listen, she'll stop- there's nothing she can do, and those are her boundaries. however, demi does tend to struggle with emotional regulation. many say she is not fragile- not like a flower, like a bomb. demi is easy to trigger into a rage, without her even realizing it- it could be over anything, it's hard to tell what will set her off. one thing is certain, though. she will always, always defend herself, her reputation, and those close to her with her fists swinging. demi puts her all into every single thing.
demi bourbon - art by ghostinggrim on instagram.
demi bourbon - art by ghostinggrim on instagram.
likes: music, alcohol, singing, cooking, mechanics, chocolate, hands-on work.
dislikes: pain, hospitals, slow days, thunder, taxes, cutting onions.
hobbies: ever since she was a kid, demi had to find a way to be useful for sam, and her mother while she was around. she hated being bedbound with her sickness, and wanted to do something to make up for the expenses- so, she taught herself how to fix things. from general machinery to household appliances and systems, demi would sit in her bed and learn how things worked. then, she would teach herself how to fix them with what she had. demi became very handy, able to fix the water systems of the house alongside any and all appliances. they didn't have to call someone, and it was free if she did it- eventually, she began to offer her services to others. being helpful and active while making a change was something that she really loved and enjoyed, and took a lot of interests in.
name: demi azahara vasquez-bourbon.
age: 27.
sexuality: bisexual polyamorous.
gender: female.
appearance: demi is a well-built, tall woman. she is curvy, on the chubbier side, and stands at 5'10. diagnosed with vitiligo, her skin is a warm brown with many patches of white covering her, and even extending into her curls where her hair is white. Her eyes are hazel green with flecks of brown, and her crows feet and smile lines are deep. she has moles and beauty marks in various places, including below her lip and on her chest. more hidden is the lineart tattoo of a potted orange tree on her right side, from the middle of her ribcage all the way down to her hip, alongside a rose on her left breast.
demi bourbon - art by ghostinggrim on instagram.

CONTENT WARNING: Prostitution, substance use and abuse, child labor, withdrawals, neglect.demi was born with nothing- hardly even a name. her mother hadn't been in her right mind to pick it, she'd gotten drunk just to suffer through labor. sam chose her name for her, having picked up and written down a variety he thought were nice, and giving her his surnames to match. she was his baby sister, now- it was his job as a little seven-year-old to pick up where their mother could not.demi couldn't help that she was born weak, though. she was kept with doctors in the city hospital, away from the world. they said it was too risky- she could get even sicker out in the real world, in a way that couldn't be fixed. the drugs they gave her had nearly no effect, and it was impossible to get her to rest- she was always crying, running a fever, shaking so hard the doctors worried for her brain. they said it was withdrawals, mixed with her sickness. they said she wouldn't make it to the spring.their mother used her body for money, and nearly none of it went to demi's medical treatments- many nights, she was so drunk she forgot about her daughter. it fell on sam to pick up the pieces- stealing coins from his mother when she wasn't looking, picking up hard labor and odd jobs wherever he could find it. he was only a kid, who wanted his baby sister home. it didn't matter if they were in the slums, he just wanted her back. he would visit her every few nights, just to make sure she was ok.just after she turned two, the doctors gave up on her and what little money they were getting from sam. it wasn't enough to cover the treatments and hospital stay. she finally got to go home, but she was still very, very weak. sam was 9, now- he still had to work, through carpentry and restaurants, mail delivery and groceries- he needed to pay for baby demi's medicines. their mother couldn't even be found most nights, too high or drunk or too far gone to bother coming home. even when she saw demi, all she could do was feel scorned- the white that covered her body in speckles was a sign of sin, her sickness was a curse from the god that abandoned her mother long ago. she wanted nothing to do with her daughter.it was up to sam to protect demi from the people who would throw things at her- the children who would chase her for being different.demi slowly gained some semblance of strength over the years. she could walk on her own, eat any food, and rarely contracted as many fevers as she used to. the medicines were expensive, but sam never complained to her about it. he just told her to rest and get better, to focus on school. after, she would come to where he was working to help him, hidden away from the eyes of their employers. they made it work.

they made a plan together. demi dropped out of school when she was fourteen to help sam work. she did what she could, mostly as a barmaid in different taverns.a police notice: a single mother was found dead in the slum. her daughter and foster son were nowhere to be found.the siblings had saved up what little money they had, stowing away in the closest ship they could to england. despite how frail demi was, even as a sixteen year old, she made the journey- when they got there, it was hard. with what money they had, they could only find work with themselves- so they opened bourbon's bar. it didn't do well at first. sam stayed out late many nights, and kept demi in their small, one bedroom apartment.it was hard, until sam developed dovlin.he never told demi what was in it- for all the sips of liquor he'd let her take, she was never allowed to indulge in dovlin. the recipe was secret, and its taste eluded her- but with its development, patrons flooded the bar. they were making more than enough to survive on, enough to indulge.when demi was twenty-three, sam wake her up in the early hours of the morning with a kiss to her forehead. he told her that he had a business proposition, and that he'd be back. that he didn't want to take it, that he was still as worried about her as he always was. he would write to her, he said.he never did.demi was alone, now. she ran the bar as it had been, but there was no more dovlin. in the evenings, she drank enough to put her to sleep on the floor of the bar. she took her cigarettes and wine with coca, keeping her manic and functioning- not focusing on being abandoned by sam, her only family. forgetting that she was left behind. but with each passing indulgence, demi needed more. whatever she took wasn't enough anymore- she always had been resistant to drugs. all she could do was take more.with the loss of dovlin, and the money she spent on cocaine and alcohol, the bar's reserves dried up fast. by the time she reached twenty-seven, she wasn't even making it from rent to rent. but one fateful day, something arrived in the mail- the recipe for dovlin, and news on her brother.she had no choice.she would go find him.