Poppy Lovejoy

[Poppy Lovejoy]

The Basics

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Name: Poppy Persephone Lovejoy
Nicknames: Poppy, Pea, Persephone
Age: Sixteen
Orientation: Heterosexual
Desired Rank/Job: Student
Powers: Avian Communication: the ability to talk and interact with birds. She cannot telepathically communicate with them yet, but they can understand her when she speaks to them. Telepathic connections could be possible with advanced training and skill. In no way can she control whether or not they actually listen to her, which can be discomforting at times, but it means that she would have to build a strong connection with the animal beforehand if she'd ever want it to be nice back, especially those bigger, tougher birds. The sparrows and robins take to playing nice most of the time though. With such ability, she could create a playmate, someone to help her out when in need, or just for general conversation. She can also understand what the bird usually wants back, when it sings its song or chirps, caws, etc., which is translated in her mind into English or comprehensible plain-speak. Side-effects can include dyslexic speech patterns, creative bursts of energy, or heavy fatigue, and the occasional appearance of talking to one's self.
Play By: Alison Sudol

The Details

Hair Color: Red
Eye Color: Hazel
Any Piercings? Just studs in her lobes
Any Tattoos? None
Any Scars? A nick or two on her knees from childhood adventures, that's all.
General Appearance:
Her most distinguishable asset, Poppy has bright red hair, the same as her father and mother. She's grown it out long, to the small of her back. She's got a wondrous pair of hazel eyes, long lashes, and a pale complexion to make her features stick out quite a bit. She's not that tall of a girl, and only stands at precisely sixty-three inches, or five feet, three inches. Poppy is a small, lean girl, but her energy level is quite exuberant. She's highly excitable and will share her imaginings with whomever will listen.

From a fairly interesting family background, with equally interesting morals, Poppy was raised believing that fairy tails are true, and all creatures that exist within them. Her appearance is somewhat imaginative, pairing victorian vests with flowing skirts, accompanied with flowers in her hair that she'd found from her large backyard that settles into the forest. She's not really aware of what the recent fashions are, nor does she have any interest in becoming aware. Instead, she prefers to wear whatever feels right on that given day, often finding fun in dressing up like a princess or faerie or something of the sort. Although, I'm sure somedays she just wants to look like a faun or cyclops, which could lead to some very interesting planned outfits.

Personality:
A daydreamer to the fullest, believing in things that no ordinary person would ever take for granted. She's quite the imaginative girl, excitable and slightly childish. She absolutely loves the outdoors, and if she could live in a treehouse for the rest of her days, you'd be the first to know all about it. Even though she is in her mid-teen years now, her love and fascination for all that goes bump in the night, or steals your coins and buttons from your pockets has yet to die. Her parents raised her on faerie tales being as true as the Bible would be, that witches and wizards were real, (yes, Hogwarts does exist, she just has yet to get her owl -- she'll have to talk to them about that), that there are queens of the forests, and kings of the swamps, that sirens truly do bring men down to their deaths, and fauns will invite you into their cottages and offer to play you their lute. Most of these imaginings have been through her head, and over time, its hard to dissimilate reality from imagination, as a result, she criss-crosses everything into one lengthy tale.

Despite some obvious oddities, Poppy is quite the kind girl, though adventurous, and stuck in her ideas until death do her part. Anyone who questions her beliefs or makes fun of them surely hasn't been lucky enough to see a faerie or kiss a frog and turn him into a prince again. Pity on them, perhaps they should close their eyes and believe. Nevertheless, she is nice and polite to anyone who flashes her a smile, and will be the one to go up and talk to someone first, without a problem. She's a wonderful talker, and an average listener, mainly because she hears what they're saying, but is in her own little world far too much to really grasp everything they're saying. Some question whether or not she might have ADD, but her parents, not believing in diagnosis's from men in white lab coats, Poppy was never tested, and probably won't ever be, so that one is a mystery.

In addition, she's confident in nearly everything, but not to the point of shoving it in your face. Yes, she wears makeup, but only for fun. She's not been in the business of love in, well, ever. Convinced that Prince Charming will find her one day and they'll have peculiar little children, well..you get the picture. She's not much of the 'dating' type. Only if one as unusual or as loving of her little world would ever be a suitable match. For now, though, she'll wait for Mr. Right to find her, and make now effort in finding him. That's how it works in those faery books anyways. The princess never does the looking.

Your Vices

Likes:
∞ the great outdoors
∞ tea at noon
∞ fantasy
∞ birds and bees, but mainly birds, especially owls
∞ dressing up
∞ reading
∞ making friends
∞ baking
∞ rainy days
∞ sugar, spice and everything nice

Dislikes:
∞ slanderers
∞ blasphemy
∞ coffee
∞ serious people
∞ Bambi
∞ disrespect
∞ eating meat (once you start to talk to your future meal, it gets a little...personal)
∞ sitting for too long
∞ frogs, snails and puppy-dog tails

Strengths:
∞ energetic
∞ baking
∞ writing
∞ playing penny whistle
∞ courageous

Weaknesses:
∞ maths
∞ focusing for long periods of time
∞ remembering where she puts things
∞ hearing but not listening
∞ dissociating reality from fantasy, causing confusion and fights

Fears:
∞ boggarts and bogies
∞ fachan
∞ dying

Secret:
∞ her father was a tightrope walker in a traveling circus, until he eloped with her gypsy mother, ran off together into the wilderness, constructed a cabin, and bore Poppy (well she's told people, but no one really believes much that comes from her mouth, for some reason...)

Family Ties

Father: Andrei Lovejoy, inventor and retired tightrope performer, 38
Mother: Clementine Lovejoy, beekeeper, 35
Siblings: None
Any Other Important People:
∞ Priscilla, her four-year old chinchilla
∞ Episkey, the family's age-old goat
∞ Xavier, her favorite pygmy owl, and the first animal that she spoke with when she manifested

History

Desmond & Dolohov's Traveling Circus, Spring 1994

Stopping in the country fairgrounds of Cambridge, Vermont, population 234, was like any ordinary weekend. The circus crew rolled in, unloaded everything, put up the tents and within a few hours, with the help of some electric extension cords to find a rather large source of energy to fuel those large lights, the traveling circus was ready for showtime. This would have been any ordinary circus performance, Trudy the elephant trainer would still have jumped on top of three elephants, backflipped off of the last, and fed them peanuts in the response of a cheering crowd, Maximilian the unicyclist would still perform while juggling a dozen ostrich eggs without falling, and Andrei the tightrope walker would still perform flips and jumps on the inch wide thick rope above a pool of water and bowed to a cheering crowd, all if not for a jingle and jangle from the clapping hands of a long, ruby red-haired femme in the top row, of the audience facing the performers, who, to Andrei, was center stage from up above. From the moment their eyes locked in place, coy smile from one, and enchanted smirk from the other, and it was love at first sight.
After the crowds had left, all but one of them, that is, Andrei met up with the siren, and after small talk, agreed that it would be the best thing to run off and fall in love. Excited for any bit of adventure, both of them met at the clear in the oak forest at precisely two in the morning, bags packed, hand in hand. They ran away, Andrei from the circus, Clementine from her houseboat and band of gypsies that she'd been traveling with for nearly her entire life. Running south, and finally making it to West Dover, a town with just over 1400 people spread the great forest that covered most of the state, Andrei and Clementine settled down, first staying in a bed and breakfast until they decided to move to the forest. Andrei built up a quaint cabin from scrap wood and tin sheets for them to live in for as long as they desired, or until the days of old, whichever came first. There they settled, eloped, and began their whole new adventure.


Homestead in West Dover, Vermont, Winter 1994

Smoke billowing from the exquisitely-crafted brick fireplace, itchy wool blankets and handmade adobe knit blankets, steamy iron pot of hot water, poured into china glasses from the secondhand shop down the road, accompanied by balls of herbs and spices, steeping and filling the room with a spicy sweet aroma, and Episkey, the old adopted goat from the village over seated on the bed, next to Clementine, all of which was an attempt to keep her warm an sane as she gave birth to her one and only child, Poppy Persephone Lovejoy, born on November, 11, 1994. A mess of red hair was visible even right after birth, a present from both of her parents. According to them, she came out smiling, and within no time, she was more interested in playing with her mother's long, wispy hair than in crying for food or anything that normal babies do. She'd also found fondness in Episkey right away, who didn't seem to mind her much either, giving her the occasional lick or the slightest bonk in the head. Most parents would be concerned about the soft head that babies had, and how it could damage the brain, but this was of no concern to the Lovejoys whatsoever. Instead, they smiled at the tight family, and went on to raise little baby Poppy to be quite the lovely little dreamer.

William C Putnam State Forest, Vermont, Spring 2011

It was a known fact that you should always walk through the forest with your hands in your pockets, just in case the pixies tried to steal away your precious coins. Watch your step as well, you wouldn't want to squish any white salamanders or runespoors if you weren't careful. But, if you were lucky, you could spot a clabbert, but you'd have to be incredibly lucky to spot a unicorn. In addition, everyone knew that magic was real, and so were magicians, the real ones, not just he ones who wore those gaudy stars on their velvet capes and top hats. Hogwarts was a real place, but unfortunately, she was a Muggle, according to their type of magic. And she'd yet to find the portal to Narnia, although she was actively looking in as many wardrobes and closets she came by.

Still, whenever she told anyone about this, they didn't take it too well. Usually they either laughed in her face, or made fun of her, either bullying her or embarrassing her in front of every one else. This had been happening since she was in day care, up until she was in second grade, until it got too bad, and someone made a swing at her face, knocking out her two front teeth. Luckily, those were still her stubborn baby teeth, so they grew back eventually. But that had been the last straw for her parents, and they took her out of public school, her father homeschooling her instead, while her mother raised and kept bees, crafting honey and selling it at the market a few miles away.

But that was known facts by now, as Poppy was already fifteen years of age. She had been wandering along the dirt path, mainly trodden by her throughout all of these years. It was just a few minutes away from her cottage, but where she spent more time than ever. Her friends were here, the sparkly faeries, but mainly animals. For some reason, a lot of the magical creatures had gone into hiding for a wee bit of time. Perhaps they were all on holiday visiting relatives in a secret place she wasn't aware of, but she let them be, finding an increasing interest in the bunnies and badgers and most particularly, the birds. Her favorite were the little owls, as they were scientifically called, the pygmy owls, probably for their size. Her favorite was Mr. Xavier, a brown and white fluffy little pygmy owl that followed her around and had been in charge of these forests for over seven years' nights. He usually popped up around nine at night, and guarded by the branches to ward off evil beasties, for if they dared to look into his eyes, they would vanish into thin air!

Poppy found much assurance in this, and for such reason especially enjoyed spending a few extra hours in the evening out in the forest. All would have gone normal as any ordinary day if she hadn't been bullied by that big bully Randy who came with his mother to the flea marketplace, where Poppy often accompanied her mother on the weekends to help her sell some of her honey products. Randy had thought it necessary to call her profanities and poke her until she shoved him aside. He'd been calling her loony, telling her things about her family and her upbringing that were not only the rudest she'd ever been treated, but were obviously not true. While her mother was selling to customers, Poppy had figured she'd rid herself of that boy, and snuck off to buy some watermelon from the man down a few stands. Trotting off that way, she was stopped in her tracks by not only Randy, but his band of minions as well. They were all taller than her, except for their leader, the bully boy, leading commands and taunts. They kept sectioning her off to an empty stand without many people around, making her increasingly nervous. She tried to find a small crevice to sneak out of, but that wouldn't come without a fight, exactly what the boys wanted. Frantically, she whispered, that she wished someone would help her escape. At that moment, as if perfect clockwork, a rather large pigeon in mid-flight took a lovely dump on Randy's head, causing him to freak out, and all of his crew, surprised by his sissy fit, tried to help him, although some started laughing, but altogether, they were disorganized and distracted, just enough for Poppy to sneak out and run back to her mother, where she promptly told what happened. Her mother, furious, rolled up her sleeves and stalked over to the empty tent, from which Poppy could hear her the boys whimper as her mother's last syllable came off loud and clear, moments later watched the boys scatter away in fear, much to her amusement.

She was now at home though, safe in her wood, evoking in a one-sided conversation with Xavier, recounting the events of the day. She paused afterwards, looked up at the little old owl, just imagining how convenient it had been that a bird had been the one to save her from ultimate danger. A deep, slow voice uttered,"I'm glad that Eustace came to your aid, he often finds amusement in dropping in on people." From there, the owl cocked his head and perhaps she deemed it only her imagination, but saw a smile from that beak and plume of feathers fixed on his little head. She looked around for the origination of the voice though, surprised to hear this mysterious voice for the first time in her life. Xavier noticed this of course, and responded once again, "Up here, I'm the one you call Xavier." When she found him, there was amusement and intrigue on her face, not fear, after all, this meant that she had an ounce of magic in her blood, didn't it? Befuddled though she questioned, "Xavier, if that's you, why haven't I heard from you before? Why now, as I am of fifteen years and not one peep from you for as long as I have known you?" It was an interesting idea, that owls could talk..and they must understand her too, but why then, why now? He sensed her curiosity and responded calmly, "We have always understood you, but just waited for you to answer back. I've been the one waiting all of these years." After a brief pause, he continued, "Perhaps it was the fact that you were in grave danger with no way out, that it...spurred something inside of you, the voice."

With that, she had nothing more to say, nothing more she could add to that. What was this voice he was speaking of? Obviously, she had spoken, and animals came to aid, a bird, specifically. But when she spoke to Episkey or Priscilla, they didn't ever seem to talk back, even after she'd come home from her first real two-way conversation with Xavier. Perhaps it was only birds? After all, it wasn't a dog that came to nip one of the boy's legs, it was a pigeon. And Xavier was an owl. This must have been it. But how amazing was that! Oh the conversations she'd have with all the lovely birds, perhaps they could sing together, or finally find out what exactly they were singing for all of these years. All of this thought was making her head cloudy, her eyelids heavy, and within a few minutes, she was off in deep sleep.

When she awoke though, it wasn't the songbirds that she first heard, instead, behind the thin door that separated her room from the open living area, she heard low voices. Her father's was one of them, a few grunts by her mother here and there, and then someone else who she hadn't heard. It was of a female, but she sounded very matter-of-factly, casual, as if offering a deal, but only for the 'greater good' than the showman's sort of deal. Cautiously, she opened her door and slid out, flattening her body against the wall, doing what she could to not draw attention to herself. The lady, besides being very pretty, was speaking about few things that Poppy had ever heard of, especially this 'Hammel Institute' that kept popping up in the conversation. Too curious to keep quiet, she walked up to the lady, and asked her, "Is it anything like Hogwarts? I mean, I haven't gotten my letter yet, but I just found I could talk to owls and other birds of all sorts yesterday. I've yet to talk to Xavier about that one...." She turned to her mother and father, clarifying what had happened when she whispered for help and a pigeon pooped on that bully's head. Her mother was amazed and had a face of victory, quite the transformation from her former grimace. Her father looked rather impressed, and both of them seemed to believe her completely. After all, they had been the one to raise her to believe that magic can really happen and is al around them. From that, she recounted to all three of them about her final occurrence with Xavier, how the conversation went, and everything. They were somewhat taken-aback, but now they looked much more willing to cooperate, which put Poppy to ease, flashing a cute smile at the pretty lady.

Hammel Institute, Summer 2011

Turns out, Hammel isn't exactly Hogwarts, no one wears robes or has their own houses, and its a lot more like the trace memories Poppy has from grade school, but the people here are one of a kind, for the most part, that being taken literally. Everyone here has their own type of magic, but instead of spurting it from a wand or having to take Divinations, they have their own normal school classes, but they have these training sessions with people that know how to work with them and help them master their skills. Simply said, this is the best bit of school that Poppy has every experienced. People are nice and friendly, same with the teachers, and its totally normal for someone to talk to birds, and she's even met someone who can change into a bird! Some students can control the weather, while others can read minds, and still others can shoot fire from their hands! For the first time in her life she's found people outside her family that she can finally relate with. Just wait until she tells them about her magical forest and all the creatures within it!

Roleplay Example

Annabelle Coronova or JJ Kyung can be used as examples.

What About You?

Name: Bells.
Age:19.
Experience:Here? Since December. RPing for over two years.
How Did You Find Us?I found you ages ago.
Ready To Play?Pretty please, with sugar on top.

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[Dryope *]

Accepted

She's super adorable! Just one thing, please fix your image as it isn't showing up because the URL is too long. You may want to try tinypic or photobucket instead of swiping from google. Don't forget your CLAIMS and have fun!

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