From Changeling Venue

Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Description 1.2 Relevant Mechanics 2 Character Information 2.1 Inspiration 2.1.1 Soundtrack 2.2 Known History 2.2.1 Basic Timeline 2.2.2 Basic Background 2.2.3 Current Activities 2.3 Little Black Book 2.3.1 Fae Ties 2.3.2 Motley 2.3.3 Allies 2.3.4 Friends 2.3.5 Enemies 2.3.6 Colleagues 2.3.7 Clients 2.3.8 Undefined Ties 2.4 Quotations & Rumors 2.4.1 Quotes that resonate for this PC 2.4.2 Quotes about this PC 2.4.3 Rumors about this PC 3 Contact Information 3.1 Looking For Character Tie-Ins 3.2 Methods of Contact - In Character 3.3 Methods of Contact - Out of Character 4 Due Credit

Seeming	Fairest Muse
Court	Spring Court •••••
Freehold	Ring of Roses
Player	Sharon Yarbrough

Player - Sharon Yarbrough (US2002022447)
Storyteller for this PC: Rob Fowler, GA-010-D VST Lost

NOTE : This character is registered to the Atlanta Lost VSS, "In Media Res". Without express permission from the player, the information contained on and linked from this page is classified as OOC Knowledge. Everything on this page is subject to change per ST fiat or player whim.

          "Your smile reminded me of -- "

"I always remind people of -- who is she?"

Overview

Real Name: Holly Christine Carver

Alias(es):

• Called "Poppet" by her Keeper, Aldebaran - Baron Strega the Elder, Demon Lord of the East Wind
• Called "Hollypop" by those on this side that she has allowed herself to trust
• Called "Sarah Inman" by the US Government and the GA DMV

Concept: (White Hat) Society Madam with a down-home heart of gold

Entitlement: House of Rhapsody, entitlement draft is pending ST-chain approval
Society: Agents of Fortune - Grace of Good Fortune
Freehold: Ring of Roses, of Atlanta GA

Character Livejournal: Custom Filter on Lollipops & Pipe Dreams
AMST Lost’s Character Development Questionnaire: Answers
Complete Story Development Timeline for this PC: Details

Description

• Personality: Holly is a genuinely caring and honest soul. She is kind and generous ("to a fault" some say), and it is rare that emotions like anger or depression will darken her expression. She doesn't think in terms of what she may be getting out of something, but rather, in terms of what her actions and decisions can provide for others. It doesn't matter to her whether those "others" are Changeling or Mortal, all that matters is that she lives a life of compassion and honest effort.
• Mask: Holly's appearance would place her in her early 30s and very much within The Girl Next Door archetype. When she isn't working, Holly can usually be found wearing cute flats, comfortable blue denim jeans and a white tank top or a shell sweater the color of new cream. Often, particularly if it's a windy or chilled day, she also sports a cap and velvety windbreaker that is the vivid light green of new leaves. Though her income would allow her to wear far more expensive pieces, her only jewelry is a butterfly necklace and pair of flower-drop earrings made of silver, peridots and crushed emeralds.
• Fae Mien: Holly wasn't changed much physically, a bit more slender, face a touch more heartshaped, and the slightest point to the tips of her ears and the tilt of her chin and nose. The sole, truly distinctive feature hidden by her Mask are the cords attached to her hands and feet and bound forever in her hair at the crown of her head. Archetypal characters will get a sense of familiarity, a sense of something shared - a wisp of dream or a choked off death rattle only half remembered. Other characters might feel as if they've seen her somewhere before - for surely most of them had during the centuries of Faerie time her Keeper traveled with her across the breadth of that strange land.

Relevant Mechanics

• Inspiring and Striking Looks x4
• Sanctity, pending approval of IAS application # USA-SE-LC-0710-82085
• New Identity x4, IAS application # USA-SE-LC-0710-81728
• Mantle, Spring x5, IAS application # USA-SE-LC-0710-81468
• Court Goodwill, pending approval of IAS application # USA-SE-LC-0710-81549
  • Summer x2
  • Autumn x2
  • Winter x2

For explanations or additional details about the listed traits, please click here.

Character Information

Inspiration

High Society Madam, ala Heidi Fleiss or Deborah Jeane Palfrey income notes, both mundane and Glamour Selena Coombs from American Gothic, The Devil from Bedazzled, and Daisy Adair from Dead Like Me personality notes HOA President, community similar to Fables or The Stepford Wives she's been back for a while and helps to run a Freehold possibly in a position of some power within the local Courts Snow & Scheherazade in 1001 Nights of Snowfall she hoards tales against the day her Keeper returns Elisa Day in Where the Wild Roses Grow this is connected to when she was taken the heartfelt wish of a child is the strongest emotion/contract? the Keeper heard and granted the wish, but at what price? she lived out the tales, all of them, for the Gentry's entertainment Betty Rohmer and Georgia Lass in Dead Like Me Betty - how she approaches life on this side of the Hedge George - how she deals with a life apart from her family Superstitious, "very careful to always observe" so attention isn't drawn the wish was made in multiple 'Tweens Leading Edge (OWoD Changeling reference)

Soundtrack

• (video / lyrics), Amazing, performed by Aerosmith on Big Ones
• (video / lyrics), Bring Me to Life, performed by Evanescence on Fallen
• (video / lyrics), Elephant Love Medley, performed by Ewan McGregor & Nicole Kidman on the soundtrack for Moulin Rouge!
• (video / lyrics), Genie in a Bottle, performed by Christina Aguilera on her self-titled album
• (video / lyrics), Sometimes, performed by Britney Spears on ...Baby One More Time
• (video / lyrics), The Circle of Life, performed by Elton John on the soundtrack for The Lion King
• (video / lyrics), The Voice Within, performed by Christina Aguilera on Stripped

Known History

Basic Timeline

Born: December 28, 1975
Taken: December 13, 1984
Escaped: March 22, 1997
Locked Away: Autumn 1997
Productive Member of Society: Winter 2002

To read the expanded timeline, please click here.

Basic Background

Happy, normal childhood, until she became sick. When she was very near death, she made a heartfelt wish as only a child can make one. Though the circumstances of her life and death marked her as the rightful property of The Twilight King, she was taken by the demon Aldebaran.

While she was in Faerie, she was used by this great entertainer (who was also sometimes known as the East Wind) to tell stories. They traveled to many great halls and parlors, to many townships all over Arcadia, and he would waken her from where she slept in his enchanted book and dangle her from her strings upon his enchanted stage. The stories would come to life around her, literally. All the great tales that have ever been told and even those put to paper as nightmares - stories by Grimm and King and tellers of tales before and after and in-between - the stories were her life, her exultation, her terror, and her death - night after night after endless night - upon the little enchanted stage. When the story was done, he would lift what was left, brush the strings across the pages and fold his book closed then spend the rest of his evening carousing with his patron of the week.

She will know a number of changelings, many more will know her or will have seen her as the stories she was enspelled to play out transpired in the great halls of Arcadia. She may not be able to remember them all, but there might remain at her core a tremor of emotion connected to the story played out on their grand stage; this tremor could be disquieting as "Red" meets the archetype of "the Wolf" once more or it could hit with the impact of the freight train that made "Teen Angel" take wing. So many brutally honest or horridly wretched stories in books and songs and plays - old and new - so many tales played out for the passing amusement of the Fae that the Lord of the East Wind would visit.

Holly returned to the mundane world about ten years ago, enough time to get it together and not be a total fruit basket by now. She owns a building or something, details on that aren't firm yet, and that's how she makes the money she needs to help out others. She also is extremely good at arranging an emotional fix when other Changelings need it.

For a more detailed write up of Holly's past and present, please click here.

Current Activities

"Each sin, every virtue, stems from a desire within the heart of the individual. It's easier to find and name the underlying desire for some on the list than it is for others, but it exists for each and every one. It's like price that way, Aaron. Everyone has their Price, and everyone has their Desire. Just a matter of knowing what that Desire is before you can cater to it ... "

Holly stood and poured another glass of wine for her guest, ready at last to get down to the heart of their conversation, as the lines of the movie playing for the girls in the other room echoed her point and drove it home. "A kiss may be grand but it, won't pay the rental on your humble flat, or help you feed your mmhm pussycat! Men grow cold as girls grow old, and we all loose our charms in the end... "

After pouring the wine she closed the door to the other room and laid a thin sheaf of paper and a newly sharpened pencil on the table before him, then returned to her seat by his side, gently stroking his hair and whispering enchantingly soft words into his ear. "Just your story since you landed in this city, Aaron. That's all it will cost, and you'll have a steady diet of irritable people dropping by your coffeehouse for one full season. If you give me everything you remember since the day you broke free of the thorns, you'll have that supply for two seasons and I'll extend a private arrangement to include your holdings. Do we have an accord?"

There is an endless circle of emotion to be gleaned from the prostitution of Desire, not just lust, 
but the full spectrum of human emotions as they - and we - play through the script of daily life. 
-> A desperate teen wants cash for a quick fix.. 
-> A man wants a tight hole in exchange.
-> A jilted wife wants justification to humiliate an adulterer. 
-> A lawyer wants his name in the papers. 
-> A bored lawyer's wife wants a country club membership
-> A teen lifeguard wants to brag to his friends.
-> A cuckolded lawyer wants to feel powerful and in charge.
-> A bruised woman wants back the tiny life her boredom cost.
-> A broken man wants it all to end rather than deal with the guilt.
Anything can be bought or sold in this city, to anyone that wants, for the right price.  
Carefully sowing and reaping that fertile field will nourish us for many years to come.

Little Black Book

(This section is based purely upon IC perception. These are the "facts" as Holly understands them; Holly's player is aware that the PC's perspective in some areas may not be fully OOC factual.)

Fae Ties

The Twilight King, NPC - cheated of Holly's service
Baron Strega the Elder, NPC - Holly's Keeper
Holly Carver, NPC - Holly's Fetch

Motley

Holly hasn't "cliqued" yet. She table hops too much to be pinned down to just one group of friends.
Quite often though, you can find her hanging with members from one of these groups:
... Fyörg
... The Family Twist
... The Morning
... The Mates of Towerhill

Allies

• Aaron Lowe of the Spring Court, Beast Hunterheart of "Freehold of the Youthful Springs" (Gainesville FL) - Originally a client looking for hope, now a guidepost and moral center in Holly's life. - "The sun doesn't dare to rise without lighting his mane, nor does he fail to touch others with the warmth of his heart."
• Brand of the Summer Court, Elemental Fireheart of "Freehold of the Youthful Springs" (Gainesville FL) - "An excellent dance partner, and the purity of his desire is sweet. I'll savor it in his company for a while, and then see if that long-ago dream can't be fulfilled. In the meantime, his cheeks flush so nicely when we flirt. How could any girl resist?"
• Dane of the Spring Court, Fairest Draconic of the Ring of Roses Freehold (Atlanta GA) - "I don't remember the whole sex, drugs and rock-n-roll thing personally, but that's how Dane's energy hits you when you first meet him ... just without the hangover and chemical addiction that'll get you fired from that 9-5 you insist you can't leave. Best thing is? The mellow morning coffee Dane is just as intoxicating."
• David "Gilded" Manning of the Summer Court, Ogre Stonebones of the Ring of Roses Freehold (Atlanta GA) - Frequent visitor at the sanitarium where Holly was placed after her breakdown. She tells herself it's just gratitude for what he did that makes her smile when he clomps in and his voice booms out across a room. - "Gilded smooths the wrinkles and confusions when emotions won't let me see plain and simple truths. I hope, when the day finally comes that the Tolltaker has need, that I can be as strong for him as he has been steadfast for me. In the meantime, it's enough to try to forget the bone-snapping crunch of the grinding machine."
• Hannah of the Spring Court, Darkling Mirrorskin of The Sepulcher Freehold (Rome GA) - Holly met Hannah through Aaron. Over a matter of weeks, they became fast friends, nearly inseparable when in the same city. - "Hannah is, so very, my BFF. There isn't anything I do that isn't better for sharing it with her."
• Joss Whitney of the Spring Court, Flowering Fairest of the Ring of Roses Freehold (Atlanta GA) - Joss set up Holly with an identity and a place to stay after Tommy Blue left her in Atlanta, foot the bill for her stay in the sanitarium, and helped her make the connections to start her own business. He is the man to whom Holly turns when she needs a bit of fatherly encouragement to continue on and not lose hope. - "Never too busy to have his ear bent with a tale of frustration or a broken heart, as long as the tale is told while you're wiping down his bar and pouring the next round."
• Solstice of the Autumn Court, Fairest Dancer of "Cresting Waves Freehold" (Pensacola FL)
• Tommy Blue of the Autumn Court, Darkling Mirrorskin of the Freehold of the Seven Hills (Seattle WA) - "I looked up at her from where I'd landed in the gutter, and her first words to me were 'who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doin' in my book?' Her next words were something about cheeseburgers and finding me something that wasn't rags to wear. Three days later I woke up from my first block party. Tommy grinned at me from a couch across the room, and I knew that His winds couldn't follow where this pretty little Madness had led."
• Zoe Edwards of the Autumn Court, Fairest of "Freehold of the Youthful Springs" (Gainesville FL) - Holly and Zoe met while working for Joss. Looking at the surface (and with Zoe clearly the stronger personality of the two), you'd think they'd mix like oil and water. There's something below the surface, though, an unbidden connection that runs deep and lasting and true. - "Zoe is beautiful and passionate and terribly fun to be around, at least when she isn't angry over Dane being on the same planet or some drunk little blonde flirting with Aaron. She's all of that, and strong enough to keep the terror from stepping out of her books. Sometimes though, when she doesn't think anyone's watching, her expression betrays how very much she craves to write the lot of us into those nightmare-filled pages and be done with us for good."

Friends

NOTE: Ally names have been altered from the Real World counterpart, in keeping with Atlanta domain policy.

• Bob Hewing, secretary of the Georgia state senate
• Debra S. Green, chief judge for the Atlanta municipal court system
• Ed Terner, media mogul & owner of the Atlanta Braves
• Sir Elden Jahn, world-renowned music mogul
• Gregory Pritcheon, chief of staff for the Atlanta mayor's offices
• Harold Graedy III, chair of the Graedy Foundation BoD & director of SunTrust Robinton Humfrey
• Maunika Koffman, anchorwoman for WSB TV in Atlanta

Holly also knows more than a few Metro Atlanta residents that are ...

• Business Leaders
• Legal Professionals
• Medical Professionals
• Legislators (City and State)
• Celebrities & Sports Stars

Enemies

Colleagues

• David Burke, Darkling Mirrorskin of the Ring of Roses Freehold (Atlanta GA) - "They talk about him behind his back and talk about the smelly bag he carries; they never complain about the smell of the blow or smack they consume at my penthouse, though, and he never complains about what I give him in return for the supply."
• Noman, Mirrorskin Darkling of Freehold (Cincinnati, OH) - Holly met Noman on a train excursion to find a rare book and refers to their good fortune in finding each other as "Word Problem Fate". It's known they work through some modified system of barter and that, working together, they can locate and procure generally any given thing a person could desire.

Clients

• Bandabras Pelinor, Fairest Treasured of the House of Cards Freehold (Orlando FL) - There's a little more than just a client/provider relationship here, though good luck getting either of them to admit what that little bit more actually is.
• Clayton Townsend, Fairest Draconic of the Ring of Roses Freehold (Atlanta GA) - "Clayton will never surrender until his family is whole again. His fierce determination to do it without causing a tri-state murder spree makes me proud to call him a friend."
• Lee of the Spring Court, Beast Hunterheart of the Ring of Roses Freehold (Atlanta GA) - Holly's favorite "bumming around" friend. Holly helped Lee make the connections to get him started on the lower-rung pro wrestling circuits. Lee has been mistaken for her bodyguard due to nights out at pool halls or movies or the occasions where she's on his arm at some fancy shindig and he's wearing a tux and an earpiece.
• Justice Drago Verdetti, Elemental Snowskin of the Ring of Roses Freehold (Atlanta GA) - *"A man of simple desires with no requests for troublesome connections to any of our own. Now, if I could just get him to stop spouting sense ... "
• Thomas McHale, Beast Skitterskulk of the Ring of Roses Freehold (Atlanta GA) - "So quiet is Thomas, more quiet than the libraries; they'll never even hear his voice until they listen with their eyes."

Undefined Ties

• Gryphon of the Summer Court, Fairest Draconic of The Freehold of Liberty's Stand (Washington DC)

Quotations & Rumors

Quotes that resonate for this PC

"A life lived in fear is a life half lived." -- Baz Luhrmann

"Always remember ... the light at the end of someone's tunnel may be you." -- Amazing, performed by Aerosmith on Big Ones

"None of us get out alive. Now you can huddle in a group and face it one day at a time, or you could be grateful that when your body rubs against someone else's, it explodes with enough pleasure that you can forget, even for a minute, that you're only a walking pile of ashes." -- Julian MacMahon, as "Dr. Christian Troy" on Nip/Tuck

"God wouldn't give you the ability to dream, without the ability to make your dreams come true." -- Anonymous

Quotes about this PC

Please add a quotation about Holly from your character's perspective, followed by your character's name.

"She said it was water and it looked like water, but something about the way forthright she offered it, made me think it was a trick." -- Aurora Kippelin, said to Parthena in Spring 2005

"A wonderfully kind, thoughtful and gentle lady, who somehow remains innocent, and causes me to blush, all at the same time." -- Brand

"Holly understands Desire like children understand lying. She couldn't tell you the difference if she tried - it's all just her." -- Dane Sonnerlin

"More girls I'm not allowed to play with. She's more like me than she wants to admit to herself and more winter than her mantle suggests. I'm waiting for the facade to crack and for her to go to winter where she really belongs." -- David Burke

"Holly is a good person. An outright good person. Now that doesn't make your Toll any higher for breaking your pledge to her but somehow...somehow it makes it warmer." - Gilded

"Holly is totally the best! She takes the party with her wherever she goes, and I love her for it." -- Hannah

"The path of vice only leads to darker vices. Where will she draw her line?" -- Jingle

"If sugartush over there ever figures how to be selfish, she'll take over the world." -- Lee

"Holly dishonest? Naw, I spent three straight months moochin' off her an' the spring court. That girl ain't got a harmful bone in 'er body. She just don't always say what she means 'cause she's afraid of offendin' someone." -- Lowell Whitman

"Holly wants everything she says to be true. So completely, in fact, she ignores reality in favor of her version. It doesn't matter if the rest of us simply don't agree; that's next on her list. Such a good little Kitten." -- Mallory Schadenfreude

"Holly is a very smart and refined lady. She spends lots of money in my shop and really loves my hand creams. Her jewelry inspired me to carry some like it in my shop." -- Mia Jenkins

"We don't walk the same circles, squares, or triangles." -- Renn

"See? Stealing is totally a good thing! A book a day keeps the Gentry away." -- Tommy Blue, on her accidental rescuing of Holly from Arcadia

"Everyone thinks her hair is green, but I know that it's actually a nice orangish red." -- Touch

"Holly Poppet. My darling little Poppy... Light to my dark. Day to my night. You'd think we had nothing at all in common, wouldn't you...?" -- Zoe Edwards

"I'd never even met her before she came to Tampa, to take part in the Winter Masque...I didn't know her, and just thought she was another too-pretty example of Spring Fairest uselessness. Then Cel fell ill and wouldn't wake up...and Holly never left her side. This creature I'd dismissed as an empty ornament stayed with us, cooked for us, and kept me, Van, and Wayland from tearing each other into tiny bits in frustration while we could only watch, wait, and hope Cel got better. We owe Holly a debt we cannot easily repay, and I suggest you remember that before you let me find out you've fucked with her...she'd tell you desire can be one of the most awful feelings you could ever experience, but I'm willing to bet you'd rather feel that than feel your legs threaded through your throat and out your nostrils." -- Dzxoxian Brokehorn

"She has the biggest heart I know. There's room for so many, and yet one is tempted to give theirs over to her, just in case." - Bandabras Pelinor

"I don't believe that We've had the pleasure yet...Who am I? Oh no one important. Just a Dahlia in the garden of life, perhaps Holly and Dahlias will grow in the same garden one day." - Dahlia Mask

Rumors about this PC

Please add a rumor about Holly - true, false, or otherwise.

• Holly loves puppet shows. Her favorite is the stage production of Disney's "The Lion King" (video). It makes her giggle.
• The more Holly wants a thing, the more she gives away. Most recently, it's said, she's given away an ogre's weight in gold.

Contact Information

Looking For Character Tie-Ins

• Spring Court or Fairest ties - friendly or adversarial, up to you.
• Ties within the other Seasonal Courts, or with the Courtless (even NPCs).
• Changelings or Others that she might have met while performing at the end of her Keeper's strings, whether Holly remembers or not.
• Changelings or Others that she might have met since returning to the mundane world, whether Holly remembers or not.
• Anything else that might lead to good story. Drop me an e-mail with your idea and we can work out the details.

Methods of Contact - In Character

Email Address: holly.poppet @ gmail
Gtalk: Holly.Poppet
IRC: Holly_Poppet

Methods of Contact - Out of Character

Player: Sharon Yarbrough
Email Address: us2002022447 at gmail
AIM / Gtalk / Yahoo: BeckieSueDalton
IRC: BeckieSueDalton or SE-aARST_Outreach or Atlanta-ADC-AVST-Lost
MSN: beckiesuedalton@hotmail
ICQ: 380538193

Due Credit

• Title Section quotation is from the song "Light My Candle", as written by Jonathan Larson for the characters "Roger" and "Mimi" in the theatrical production Rent.
• Overview Section image is of the statue "Marionette at Rest", as crafted by Talia Ben Zion.
• Inspiration Section image, "A True Puppet", is borrowed from the website LackColor.com.
• NPC Keeper "The Twilight King" is used with the permission of fellow player, Christopher J. Williams (US2002021540).
• GaiaOnline for their Chibi image generator.