Alicia Palmero basically self inserted herself as a character (meaning I didn't sit down an design her intentionally, she appeared as a pretty developed/defined character) as did most of the characters from "Damsel in the Red Dress" but they also developed themselves more and more over time, piece by piece.
While I wouldn't say she was based off of any character or person, she has lots of traits from people I know, and things I've experienced myself. Especially in really emotionally sensitive scenes (like "Lurid") it doesn't feel like it would have been able to be written properly if I didn't draw from my own experiences to write the story with genuine emotion.
Alicia is a poor Hispanic girl who struggled to have her basic needs provided for as a teenager, as am I. But she also still worked to pursue her dreams, despite having limited resources and serious depression, which was again, inspired by myself.
The emotions she feels in the first chapter are my own after my first award ceremony, so that part was a direct inspiration.
Since the character's mental health struggle is a huge part of the story, I decided to use my own poetry inspired way of expressing these feelings as the way she narrates her life. She's a painter, and I'm all about describing vivid visuals in my poetry so it ties together well. Many other details, like her social anxiety, and introverted nature are based off of my own family, and the things that they've told me about being an introvert, or living with social anxiety. And the way she teases her best friend is just the way me and my siblings talk to each other.