i will get back up again!

POPPY PEPP ---> 24 --> LOUNGE SINGER --> AMITY PARK

Species: Fae Sexuality: Pansexual Pronouns: She/Her Favorite Song: Ready or Not by Bridgit Mendler (changes constantly) Big Three: Leo sun, Libra moon, Gemini rising

Poppy loved to roller skate. The only issue was that she was not fantastic at it. Normally, when she was so overwhelmingly bad at something she didn’t go somewhere she knew she would make a fool of herself at, but tonight was an exception because she had been here for a small girl’s night out. At least it had started that way. Her friends and co-workers she had surrounded herself with have already either left to go to a bar or went off with someone they met leaving Poppy to be...one of the oldest people skating alone at the roller rink that night. She tried to keep the pep in her step, even if she tried to skip and almost skidded on the ground instead, but she had to admit even she felt a little sad about being by herself.

As she skated she had started thinking. About what she was doing and why it was so hard for her to just....let go and try to date or like find someone special to be with. She knew she came on strong a lot and so that normally bit her in the butt and ended any potential thing before she even had a shot, but she didn’t think she was that bad. At least not all the time. As she thought she stopped paying attention to the direction she was skating in and while she was vaguely aware she was going the right way, she hadn’t expected to just collide with a guy right then and there. She fell right on her butt and looked at the guy, utterly horrified. “I am so, so, so, so, sorry!” she squeaked, trying to get up and falling once again. “I was not looking at where I was going and I had a drink at the bar and I am so....you are free to skate along and pretend you never saw me.”

The scene wasn’t Zero’s favorite, but he had a job to do tonight. It just helped that he had a few drinks in him to keep mellow in it all. Bouncing his leg as he waited for the other to show up he nearly jumped out of his seat hearing a joyful voice. Of all times, this wasn’t the best for miss sunshine herself to start. Pinching his nose he gave a small wave. “Yep. Hi. It’s Zero…” Reaching for his drink he threw it all back with a small wince. “I’m fine. Yeah.. great job. I didn’t realize you performed here… but yeah, it was good.”

-

“I know your name is Zero! I just remember you most for being a grumpy Gus!” She was just teasing and she hoped he understood that. If not, she was happy to explain herself. “Oh really? Surprise!” She was feeling a bit self-conscious knowing he was there and saw her sing, but she was going to take the compliment and run to town with it. “Yeah, it’s my favorite thing to do! I preform here at least four days a week. I like to get the crowd going! What brings you here? I haven’t really seen you around before.”

.

Tommy genuinely meant it when he mentioned coming to see Poppy sing. She had an amazing energy just from this interaction, and he could only imagine how much energy she could have while singing. She was clearly a performer, Tommy could spot that from anywhere. He smiled, surprised to meet someone whose dad had similar interests to his. He always thought he was the only one with a dad like his, but maybe that wasn’t entirely true. “You could come over and check them out anytime, I’m sure he’d love it,” he chuckled. His family was always welcoming to any of Tommy’s friends, after all. “Yeah, it’s gonna be really cool! I’ve been to New Salem, but haven’t checked out the other new areas yet. What about you?”

-

Poppy was always trying to make fast friends, but she was still always so happy and surprised when she did. It felt nice connecting with someone right off the bat. She thrived when she was able to get along with others. “I will for sure take you up on that sometime! Spoiler alert! It’s hard to get rid of me once I have a new friend. I just...really like getting to know people.” She had heard of the new areas and she hadn’t been to a single one yet. It wasn’t because she was scared; she just...didn’t want to go headfirst into a new place alone. “How is New Salem? Sadly, I have not been to any of the new places yet. But I have heard only good things! Except for that one....oh gosh what was that called...the one with the rumored dragons? Sounds a little spooky! But in a fun way?”

.

Tommy laughed as she admitted not liking the horror genre. “It was out of my comfort zone too, honestly, but I had a lot of fun making it!” It helped him get in the spirit of Halloween despite some of his friends not getting along at the time. Even still, things were rocky between them. “A singer? That’s awesome! I should come by to hear you sometime,” he smiled. “So you’d be a good fit for a musical, I bet.” More and more ideas were coming into his head, but he had to remember that he was currently focused on his docu-series. “No way? My dad’s sort of a toy-inventor, himself. Not like Pepp Plushies level, but still,” he chuckled. “Anyway, I’ve never actually tried to put together a musical, but it’s on my bucket-list. I actually just started this new project, capturing the different places that brought together Animania since those new areas opened up.”

-

Poppy could understand that. She was sure the makings of a good horror film was a lot more fun than watching it. She imagined all the fake blood and guts were kind of cool to bring to life or something. A little gross, but fun! She blushed at the idea of him coming to see her. She didn’t know if she was excited or filled with nerves at the thought of it. Still, she encouraged him. “Please do! I’ll even do your favorite song! Just give me a heads up!” When he mentioned his dad being an inventor, she perked up even more. “That’s so neat! I would love to see his work! I’m sure he makes the most amazing things!” She was honestly a little shocked he didn’t put together a musical. Musicals were so fun and filled with music! His current project sounded fun too, but man, did she love herself a good musical. “Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to see how it goes! I’m sure it’s gonna be so brill! Have you gone to the new areas yet?”

.

“Yeah, you too,” Tommy replied with a smile, He was always excited to meet new people and make new friends. He silently noted her easy-to-remember name in the back of his mind, thoughts racing on potential ideas he could use the redhead for. Shaking her hand, he was being asked quite a few questions and he chuckled. “Oh, I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. It started as a hobby but is pretty much my life now.” It was hard to say exactly how many films he’d finished, never sure if he should include his older, more beginner-level projects. “I’ve got some films out, mostly short ones. I just finished a Halloween horror if you’re into that sort of thing.” He hadn’t noticed the grip she still had on his hand right away, but smiled awkwardly as soon as he’d realized. He was still intrigued to learn more about her, though. “That’s alright! So .. If you’ve only dabbled in acting before, what do you do besides that?”

-

Poppy loved hearing that. She had been singing since she was a kid too and now look at her; a sort-of grown up with a passion to sing even more than before. She understood how much passion drove a person more than anyone. “I am not a horror person at all! But I would still watch it!” She chuckled. “I am really squeamish actually. I will jump if I’m spooked and I might scream too. As you can see, I am a very vocal person.” She paused for a moment. “Right now I sing at the Poison Apple. I love to sing, it’s my calling I feel! But my dad isn’t super crazy about it...so I also help him out with his toy stuff. Ever heard of Pepp Plushies? My dad created them! I don’t think I know a single day that wasn’t filled to the brim with fluffy stuffed animals.”

One of Poppy’s favorite places to go was The Candy Bar. It had the best ice cream and dessert and Poppy had a sweet tooth that could not be tamed. After a long day of helping her dad out at one of his locations she knew something sweet was the perfect remedy before she went out and started her night. She got herself a strawberry milkshake and was sipping it happily when she spotted a familiar face. “Honey! Hi!” Poppy said, patting the circular seat next to her to get her to sit down with her. “What are you getting? Did you know they just started serving alcoholic milkshakes? That’s so neat, isn’t it?”

Poppy had just finished her set and she was pumped. She really loved being able to get on stage and do her job every night. She knew the songs the customers liked and she loved to throw a few pop surprises in there every now and then and tonight the crowd was just getting so into it; though she was sure that her magic had  a big part to do with that too. Still, the moment she got in with the crowd she ordered herself a fruity little drink and decided she was going to go dancing when she was done. As she sipped a familiar face entered her radar and she grinned at him. “Hey! I know you!” she said with a giggle. “It’s grumpy Gus! How are you doing? Did you see my set?”

.

Tommy was used to people assuming he was a photographer. Apparently being interested in filming wasn’t as common as photography, so he always just politely corrected people when they mistook his hobby at first glance. Despite that the redhead mistook his craft initially, she still seemed genuinely interested, which he thought was cool.

He noticed her perk up immediately, smile still present. He assumed the squeak she made was out of excitement, and he listened to her explain her acting experience. Her enthusiasm didn’t seem to falter for a second. “Good to know. If I ever need any extra people for a future project, I’ll keep you in mind.” He meant that genuinely, of course. He always wanted to expand with what actors and actresses he used; a lot of his films only really included his close friends and family, for the most part. Now that he was graduated, he was going to need more than just them. “Thanks! That means a lot.” He held out his free hand to shake hers, “I’m Tommy Pickles, by the way.”

-

Poppy has never been considered for future projects of anything before. Truth be told, she hadn’t pit herself out there as much as she acts like she does. To a lot of people, Poppy Pepp had the confidence to do anything; but in reality, she was so scared to go beyond the Poison Apple. As ready as she thinks she is there is always just a little bit of doubt that she isn’t, and sometimes that is enough to make her choke up.

So him saying that meant the world to her. It really did. “I’m Poppy! Poppy Pepp! It is so nice to meet you!” She shook his hands excitedly, grinning even bigger than before. “How long have you been filmmaking? Do you have anything out? I would love to see your work! It’s super obvious that you love what you do and I wanna support people like that!” She hadn’t realized she was still holding his hand until she finished talking and she dropped it with a light laugh. “Sorry! I get really excited easily. Sometimes I have a habit of going a little too hard right away....don’t mind me.”

“I think it was a combination of a sugar high, too much wine, and the descision to try to do the choreography to Anything Goes...” Poppy let out a giggle, sitting up. “At least that is the last thing I remember from last night. We should do these sleepovers more often! Next time, I will bring facial masks and popcorn and maybe bake some cupcakes and we can watch some musicals and oh! A karaoke machine! We should do karoke soon in general, really. But first we gotta get up, get some water, and go on a morning jog. I do one every single day and I can’t miss it because I had a fun night. You in?” @jazzsquarc

“Ugh, preach it, girl,” Poppy said, feeling herself getting heated already. “I mean like, why can guys just do whatever they want and face zero consequences for it? Why can they be the only ones topless outside? Why do they make more money than us? It’s all so stupid! I mean, we have the bigger brains and more of a capacity for empathy and then there are the men....who can just get by running pyramid schemes and stupid yoga classes and....I got to stop myself before I start screaming about my ex.” @deedeeslaboratory

Poppy laughed, shaking her head at him. “Thank you, like I said, I channel those three sad days. Those are what fuel me to do better and want better and to be better.” She knew she came off strong a lot of the time and that she was always high-energy, but it was just because she wanted good things to come and she wanted to spread positivity as much as she could. She didn’t see that as a bad thing. She saw it as her greatest strength. “Life should make you want to light a fire all over your body and just...go at it, full speed ahead! At least that’s how I’ve always seen it.” @directorpickles

.

Tommy was having a lot of fun filming different areas of Animania. Today, he was in Amity Park near home, getting some shots for his docuseries idea. He was extremely focused, for the little details made a big difference. If he was going to impress his audience, he had to be professional and precise.

He was pretty used to being interrupted while filming, so he never really got too annoyed when it happened. In fact, he typically kept filming just for the sake of bloopers. Filming some of the beautiful view of the park, his head turned, along with his camera, as an unfamiliar voice came up beside him. He was met with the face of a peppy redhead, her smile as bright as her enthusiasm. Tommy quirked a brow. “I’m filming, actually, for a project I’m working on..” He hesitated to pull away from the camera for a second, noting the natural glow she seemed to have. “Kinda weird question .. Do you do any acting or anything?” He asked, now putting the camera down to talk to her face-to-face. “If you don’t .. You’d probably be a natural.”

-

 All Poppy had to do was take another look to be like duh, that wasn’t a normal camera. She felt extemely dumb for not seeing that first but it was fine, she could make this work. She wasn’t about to ruin her first interaction with this person by being clueless and besides, he was still talking to her so she was going to take that as a good sign.

At the mention of acting she perked up at a concerning pace. In her head she was an actress. She had always had such a deep appreciation for movies and music and being a star was her goal so she didn’t want to be a one-note kind of girl. When he put his camera down she audibly squeeked because she hadn’t expected him to be so young or cute, but that was not the main thing right now. “Act? Oh, I have dabbled,” she said, trying to play it as cool as possible. “I will say I can cry on demand. All I gotta do is think about the three saddest days of my life. Or the only sad days of my life, really. I try to keep things positive! But I have range, I promise!” She felt herself turn a little red. Talking about herself wasn’t a problem normally, but this had to do with the arts! That’s a lot different. “It was not a weird question at all, by the way! There are so many randomly talented people in Animania! You included, I bet!”