[@BrutalBx][@Venus] I'm crashing now lol. 

[hider=Penelope James ● TW Mentions: Violence, Depression, Suicide, Trauma, Loss, Abuse][color=a9a9a9][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/9hvvQun.png[/img][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210408/d6a23724b90075edb9a9e4a3b6589268.png[/img]
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[color=fe6f5e]Name[/color]
[indent]Penelope Beth James[/indent]
[color=fe6f5e]Nicknames[/color]
[indent]Poppy [color=azure]●[/color] Penny [color=azure]●[/color] Pen [color=azure]●[/color] PJ [color=azure]●[/color] PB&J[/indent]
[color=fe6f5e]Age[/color]
[indent]18 (parents enrolled her in school a year earlier)[/indent]
[color=fe6f5e]Gender[/color]
[indent]Female[/indent]
[color=fe6f5e]Sexuality[/color]
[indent]Demiromantic[/indent]
[color=fe6f5e]Relationship Status[/color]
[indent]Single, heartbroken, lost[/indent]
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[img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/4f484d3d885bacf605b26612350e5d95/tumblr_pfq470soCG1qgjld2o4_500.gif[/img]
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[color=fe6f5e]Appearance Details[/color]
[list][*][b]Hair:[/b] Dark brown [color=azure]●[/color] Naturally wavy [color=azure]●[/color] As of late, unkempt and down. Sometimes in a messy ponytail. She used to put more effort in her hair. Whether straightened or stylized in a half up-do or a cute ponytail/bun, Poppy used to try to look semi-pretty. Really, for one reason and one reason only. She wanted a certain someone to notice her romantically.
[*][b]Eyes:[/b] Green
[*][b]Height:[/b] 5'3"
[*][b]Body Type:[/b] Slim
[*][b]Clothing Style:[/b] Grunge casual & 'fuck it' style [color=azure]●[/color] Messy hair, careless makeup, chockers, rings, flannel shirts, vintage items, floral dresses, combat boots [color=azure]●[/color] big shirts, big hoodies, jeans, sneakers  [color=azure]●[/color] she does own some business casual and prep, but it is all hammy downs from her late sister.
[indent][i]Noteworthy item on her person:[/i] Teardrop necklace with a little bit of her sister's ashes in it.
[i]Post First Day of Senior Year Incident:[/i] Ever since she's been diagnosed with agoraphobia, she walks out the house to do errands wearing a facemask and one of Charlie's hoodies. If she is going to work, she still wears a facemask, but puts a little more effort (minimal) to look presentable. [/indent]
[*][b]Makeup Wise:[/b] [i]Three types of grudge styles[/i] - (lazy look) Nonchalant natural make up to conceal her dark circles  [color=azure]●[/color]  (some effort look) Semi-smudged, charcoal-rimmed eye liner and slightly-messy-smoky eyes  [color=azure]●[/color]  (party look) burnt red lips and barely-there shadow   
[*][b]Scars, Tattoos and/or Piercings:[/b]  [url=https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KNecEDDIopk/VuGA4p7myaI/AAAAAAAAwlQ/yrEuu8ztDJk/s1600/CdElLeLVIAAyOHK.jpg]basic earlobe piercings[/url] [color=azure]●[/color] She has a dagger on her shoulder blade in front of poppies (and thorns). Imagine [url= https://i.imgur.com/0vQaFea.jpg]this[/url] but on a small scale. Penelope isn't one for tattoos, but she felt this one was necessary.  [/list]
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[img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/4c15decaa785860dd144052bc4ac8f51/bd6cac21ac9d5e0e-8c/s400x600/32006908e4fb04e74fc976fe20b8065db1a585b0.gif[/img] [img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/2a716bba6362311a9812a6c03c2040a9/93c692f22f1f28c3-48/s400x600/17786d1d68a2b1d85d315a107b2c7a556af926b8.gifv[/img]
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[color=fe6f5e]Personality Traits[/color]
[indent]Intelligent [color=azure]●[/color] Sharp, witty demeanor [color=azure]●[/color]  Detail oriented [color=azure]●[/color] Empathetic [color=azure]●[/color] Passionate [color=azure]●[/color] Faithful [color=azure]●[/color] Timid [color=azure]●[/color] Skeptical [color=azure]●[/color] Anxious [color=azure]●[/color] On edge [color=azure]●[/color] Insecure [color=azure]●[/color] Clinically depressed [color=azure]●[/color] Agoraphobic[/indent]
[color=fe6f5e]Biography[/color]
[indent][hider=Stagnation]How can you take away the power of painful memories when the radio noise replays the same things over and over again? If the waves of grief wasn't enough, imagine feeling unworthy to escape, letting the waves hit you again and again, being okay with this constant drowning feeling. Depression, anxiety, insecurity, and stress. These feelings defined Penelope James now. They were behind the wheel and they chose where she would go from here on out. They chose to sit still, in the middle of an intersection, the engine running but the emergency brake stuck. 

She was stuck. 

Was her life always like this? She [i]feared[/i] stepping out of her house. She felt unwanted. Consumed by self hate and loneliness, yet, she tried to see reasons to not give up. One just one. All she needed was one thing to keep her from completely shattering and succumbing to her own darkness, like Charlie did. To wake up in the morning and tell herself this was not the day to join the dead of this cursed town that she clung to so dearly. 

The answer to that is no. Penelope wasn't always like this. Penelope used to dream and smile. The anxious thoughts that have taken over her used to be distant, where she didn't need to surrender because the invisible anvil was still being held up, only applying small pressure to her chest. While lingering sadness has never left her since the beginning, Poppy could function and unlike others who grew up in the southside of Edenridge, she had a safe place to go home to and parents, for the most part, who didn't let their damage from their childhoods affect the way they cared for their children.[/hider]
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[hider=Sly & Vicky]In the simplest of summaries of her parents' lives prior to them turning over a new leaf to build a life their families never prepared them for, Sylvester "Sly" James was beaten everyday by a marine veteran and was scrutinized by his patriotic (and redneck) family, who believed serving their country would change their circumstances. Even so, they lived on the wrong side of the tracks and never did change. Not really. It was all for show and doing service made them believe they were 'heroes'. Sly saw through their bullshit and became the black sheep of the family joining the Triple S squad at a young age. He did things he wasn't proud about but by nineteen, he got out, enrolling in the Boston Police Academy. That was all thanks to a girl across the street. Victoria Mooney. She saved him by simply existing and presently, he only has to deal with one family member from his past. His father stays in a retirement home and is considered senile. 

As for Victoria, her family, The Mooneys, were an ordinary family, with ordinary lives, at least that's what it seemed on the surface. As a financial advisor, Francis Mooney could afford living in a better neighborhood, but for some reason, he chose to live in the southside. Turns out, the Mooneys were money launderers for a large drug cartel and if they tried to escape, they would all be killed. Greed took over the fractured family and their fates hung in the balance. That is until their schemes caught up with them and all of Victoria's family was sentenced to 20 years in prison, except for her. She was sent to foster care. That didn't last long because at age eighteen she found herself pregnant and was quick to move in with Sly. The father of her child. As for the Mooneys' demise, Victoria never did visit them in prison and as the only one under the witness protection program, she was and is safe from the threats her family signed up for. 

Her family never did make it out of prison. 

Shortly after the in-love couple moved in with one another, they decided to have back to back children, striving to grow their family, while building their lives together. It took a lot of hard work, dedication, and support from their neighbors, but eventually, they made a family they were happy to call their own and became two prominent faces — born, raised, and forever living in the southside.   [/hider]
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[hider=The Life of Poppy]When did Penelope start needing anti-depressants? Was it when she was three and she watched her father barricade the door from a screaming man who demanded to see his grandchildren? Was it when she was five and at the park kids tried to look under her sister's skirt? How about when she was in third grade and she was booed when she gave a presentation and her peers chanted 'narc'? There was also that time she and her sister stood up all night watching the news waiting for their father to come home, hoping he didn't get caught in the crossfire of an organized gang fight. There could be so many reasons why she has a lingering sadness, but maybe, the reason wasn't complex. Maybe the reason was as simple as not being as beautiful, as pure, as perfect, as her sister, who seemed to be everything and more.

Although Poppy lives in a safe environment in South Boston, the Southside will always have an atmosphere that can either make you or break you. The reason why Southies can push their differences aside and come through when they need to is because they all think to survive. That includes the James family, who has a man with a badge that gives him and his family better circumstances. 

In time, their peers stopped thinking of the James' sisters as narcs. There were a few kids that crept in, pushing their biased feelings aside to get to know the James family better. These kids discovered that Sly wasn't a bad cop. Actually, he came from humble beginnings like them and so, they vowed to protect these girls who seemed to find danger wherever they went. A couple of these kids were Charlie Decker, Mordechai "Decky" Boaz, and Jade Taylor. For example, Jade  wasn't part of the crowd that bullied Max and Poppy, but she was a bystander until she knew she could stand up for them. 

Regardless of the rough start of friendship and even with the messes they got into, the kids on the block had each other's back and that's what really mattered. By the end of middle school, around the time of Decky's juvie sentence, Maxine started blossoming and drifted to a new crowd. She never did fully fit in with those in Poppy's year and that probably was because she was more polished than them. That was fine though and Poppy was glad that her sister found her crowd. 

High school was a bigger beast than Poppy anticipated and everything that could go wrong, did. Bad things happened in Edenridge, she knew that, but even worse things happened while she attended Edenridge High. The Southies started drifting apart. Yes, they would always be there for one another, but the school across the tracks was big. Decky and Charlie were constantly caught up with "business". Jade made new friends. Decky found Lanie. Alison Davies died. Rumors spread like wildfire. Her sister "committed suicide". She did [b]NOT[/b] commit suicide. People seemed to forget about Max and never stopped talking about Alison. Poppy was saved by Charlie, literally. Charlie and Decky got jumped out, causing Poppy to breakdown in front of them. Charlie was falling deeper and deeper into depression. Poppy was growing increasingly lonely and jealous, as Charlie erratically pushed her way, pulled her in, turned hot and turned cold. Charlie snapped. Charlie killed Danny, Decky's little brother and someone she grew to love simply by the amount of time she spent with him. Charlie hurt people he cared about. Charlie lost himself and was shot by her father, in front of her. 

Charlie was dead.  

To say high school was shit is a severe understatement. As a result? She has been diagnosed with agoraphobia, among other things, and is absolutely afraid to move forward.

[i]Please read the family section to see what she is doing presently.[/i][/hider]
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[color=fe6f5e]Family[/color]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/SOUDYpD.png[/img][/center]
[indent][list][*] Father [color=azure]●[/color] Sylvester Samson James "Sly" [color=azure]●[/color] Age: 41 [color=azure]●[/color] FC: Enver Gjokaj [color=azure]●[/color] Police Lieutenant II, Officer-in-Charge of the Juvenile Division, serving for 22 years and counting. Sly is considering changing his police career path, potentially becoming a training officer. He would love to become a role model to young cops, but ultimately this new aspiration is because he's tired. He once thought he would change departments to the Organized Crime & Vice division but after he brought down Charlie Decker he's been strongly thinking he needs a change in pace (something not as hard hitting and heavy).
[*] Mother [color=azure]●[/color] Victoria Marie James "Vicky" [color=azure]●[/color] Age: 37 [color=azure]●[/color] FC: Emma Appleton [color=azure]●[/color] Owner of [i]Well Loved Wonders[/i], a thrift store where products you find are pre-owned, but in a loving way. Since Charlie's passing, Vicky has vowed to take care of Rhonda Decker, who suffered from a couple of medical conditions, and help her heal from the trauma she gained from her son's actions. Vicky isn't as present at her shop nowadays, but she has a wonderful, dedicated staff to pick up the pieces, and thankfully, there will always be a need for affordable secondhand owned clothing, furniture, and other goods. Due to the crime rate escalating in Boston, Sly has been taking on double shifts consistently. Although Vicky has healing to do herself, she is doing her best for the people around her, like reintroducing her daughter to society, slowly but surely. 
[*] Sister, deceased [color=azure]●[/color] Maxine Harper James "Max" [color=azure]●[/color] Would be 19, passed away at age 16. [color=azure]●[/color] FC: Alba Gaia Bellugi [color=azure]●[/color] Both Poppy and Max were enrolled in pre-k one year earlier than the rest of their year. Both showed promise when they were small, but one daughter developed faster socially and emotionally, while the other, cognitively. If Max was the moon, Poppy would be the surrounding night. Maxine had a compassionate and generous soul, using all her power and will to be part of her community and make kids in her neighborhood believe in themselves. Blossoming into a beautiful woman, but never one to become a popular kid, Maxine knew where she stood in the ladder and didn't care. She was the daughter of a cop and was considered a 'goody two shoes'. Not bad enough for a Southie. Not high spirted enough to be a cheerleader. Religiously, she kept up with the news and found a conviction of becoming a teacher. Originally, she wanted to be a lawyer but she knew by the time she would defend a kid in a courtroom, the battle would've already been lost. So, Maxine decided on English hoping to help her peers explore their personal experiences, be empathetic to other's journeys, and embrace their own stories. With these beliefs, she felt like not only would kids find stories they connected with to help them grow, but also inspire them to express themselves and have faith in their potential. She believed, and perhaps she got this from her father, that the real fight happens in a classroom. That is until her junior year. After Alison OD'd, Max carried that weight with her wherever she went and although she wasn't in her sister's class, she saw the pain and that pain hurt. Not too far after that, Maxine was found dead in her car, in the parking lot of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Her case was not only overshadowed by Alison's death, but speedily closed and reported as a suicide.       
[*] Penelope Beth James “Poppy” [color=azure]●[/color] Part-time at the backend of Cafe Rochambeau [color=azure]●[/color] Earning credits toward architectural history online, but she knows she needs to participate in hands-on studio courses and workshops to become a licensed architect. She wanted to go to Cornell University originally, but that fell through because, well, senior year. She needs time to convince herself to pursue her original dreams, but it is incredibly hard and might not be her dream anymore.   [/list][/indent]
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[img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/8842162498a57c7c7ab7db63b01e6e37/tumblr_inline_nw0rt6EVIN1r6xb6e_500.gif[/img]
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[color=fe6f5e]Misc.[/color]
[indent]FC: India Eisley | [color=fe6f5e]fe6f5e[/color]
[list][*] An artist who fancies realism. She draws buildings and portraits of people. 
[*] She owns an outdated camera to take pictures of buildings and people.
[*] Random hobbies that aren't architect-related that she enjoys: cross-stitching, jigsaw puzzles, reading in general, learning/studying history & language, and letterboxing.   
[*] A non-fiction kind of girl, but because of Max and Charlie, she is attached to other literature genres, like poetry, coming-of-age, and American classics.  
[*] Used her family's old video camera to capture moments with her friends growing up and finds herself watching clips brainlessly of the good times. 
[*] Her room is an absolute mess. Sketchbooks mixed with her clothes. Soda cans and other trash. 
[*] Prior to her job at Cafe Rochambeau, she has lost several. Her mother doesn't even want to provide work for her daughter because of how bad her social skills are now. 
[*] Her therapist has given her an exercise where she records herself talking, like a verbal diary. Bare minimum once before her next therapy session, but ideally, daily. If she can't find herself able to speak her feelings then she is suggested to turn to writing. 
[*] Multilingual. She has some understanding of a few languages, although her ability to speak and write these languages varies to a considerable degree. Some of the languages she has studied are the main romance languages: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian. 
[*] Started smoking a year ago. 
[*] Before Charlie passed, he sent her a copy of his novel but... she's never opened it. It is in her desk drawer. 
[/list]
Character mood songs: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZsXcc_tC-o]Sad Song[/url] by We The Kings (Charlie & Poppy friendship) | [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gyANphz_Kk]Would Anyone Care[/url] by Citizen Soldier | [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3UXp9jIr-U]Here With Me[/url] by Marshmello FT. CHVRCHES | [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra-XCs6LHAM]Agoraphobic[/url] by CORPSE Husband [/indent][/color][/hider]