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[turpitude]

Player Information

Name: Michelle
Contact: sweetstacks
Age: 23
Other Characters: None!

Character Information

Name: Pippa Cross
Canon: Gemma Doyle trilogy--specifically, the first book, A Great and Terrible Beauty
Canon Point: After consuming the berries/her death.
Age: 17
History: Here. For elaboration, since the Wikipedia article is sort of scant...

Pippa Cross has been raised to be the prim and proper lady her parents expect her to. A shame that their perfect doll of a daughter has epilepsy--a fact they try desperately to cover up. Her mother has taught her to excuse herself whenever a fit comes on--so Pippa associates her illness with shame.

Pippa attends Spence Academy, at which she's incredibly popular. She almost immediately attaches to Admiral Worthington's daughter, Felicity. At her side and also because of her beauty and outward behavior, Pippa rises almost to fame within Spence. She's never seen without Felicity, except in rare situations.

Of course, this is before Gemma Doyle enters. Pippa spends her days as a model student--and as a prime example of a mean girl. She picks on the more "unfortunate" girls (namely, an orphaned scholarship student by the name of Ann Bradshaw). Not much is honestly known about Pippa before Gemma comes into the picture. However, what's known is that Pippa is very much in charge of things around Spence. She does participate in her studies, of course, even when a teacher by the name of Miss Moore teaches them about an organization of powerful women known as "The Order."

And then she enters the realms with Felicity, Ann, and Gemma after making a blood pact. Pippa revels in her new powers and her new land. It's very slow going, but Pippa becomes less cruel, more caring. She's still the same spoiled Pippa, but she's not nearly as cruel and cold.

Unfortunately, there's one part of Pippa's life that is obviously imperfect: her engagement to Mr. Bartleby Bumble. Because Pippa is well-bred and beautiful, and Bumble has money, she's forced into the engagement. It obviously brings her discomfort, and Pippa is initially resigned to marrying the man.

It's near the end of the first novel that Pippa tells Bumble of her affliction. For a while, she manages to convince him that she's unfit for marriage, and he breaks off the engagement. However, Bumble goes to Pippa's parents--and the "misunderstanding" is sorted out.

The four attempt to enter the realms again, even though Gemma is reluctant. Pippa, Ann, and Felicity turn to desperate measures: They sacrifice a deer in the dead of night, but it doesn't work. The method they believed would work fails, and they're lost.

So Gemma allows them to enter the realms, because she is the only one who can. They enter, and they learn very soon that all is not well in the realms. With the runes shattered due to Gemma's actions earlier, the magic is free to run wild--and monsters roam the land.

Pippa finds herself trapped in the middle of the lake, with a wraith blocking her friends' way to her. They're forced to leave her there. Pippa stays there, in the realms alone, for some time. When Gemma comes to fetch her, Pippa's made up her mind: She will eat a handful of berries from the realm. Gemma knows the significance of this one simple action. If one not from the realms eats or drinks the food or drink there, they will essentially die and stay in the realms forever.

And so, to escape a loveless marriage and a hopeless life, Pippa eats the berries.
Personality: Vain, selfish, and prone to cruelty, Pippa Cross is a perfect example of a high-society spoiled brat. Pippa knows she's beautiful; she revels in it and enjoys the attention she receives from the opposite sex. Because Pippa knows just how lovely she is, she uses it to her advantage. Pippa is prim and proper, and she is also not a fool: She's able to bend people to her will with the bat of an eyelash or a sweet word. And Pippa, too, can be very cruel. Her childhood has been a difficult one, and so Pippa distances herself from many people. She prefers to keep them at arm's length, which results in bouts of rudeness and insensitivity. She tells Ann, a friend, that she's lucky "no one wants [her]"--and Pippa doesn't understand, at first, why this is such a problem until someone points it out. Also of note is Pippa's quickness to judge: She judges Ann for being a scholarship student and being more "unfortunate" in looks and most everything else. She judges Gemma for her upbringing, too. And Pippa even judges herself, arguably--because Pippa has been taught her looks are the only good thing about her, that they're the only thing that matters.

Above all else, Pippa wants to be loved. She thrives on love and attention, even if that love may be shallow. She loves beautiful things, too; it's why she loves the realms, because she feels wanted there. Pippa has a lot of hopes and dreams, after all, and the realms make anything possible. The magic she wields in the realms is to create for herself a dashing knight, one who will love her and fight for her. For a girl like Pippa, a noble knight is the very highest honor any girl can have. She wants to be loved, too, and this is what the knight provides: He listens to her, accepts her for who she is, and expects nothing from her. Really, Pippa's whole demeanor stems from her childhood--which was painful and neglectful, even if people were constantly fussing over her. They fussed over her for what she was, not who she was. Gemma comments on Pippa's changed demeanor after creating the knight in the realms.

I've always been so irritated when Pippa opens her mouth, I haven't stopped to think she may babble on because she's afraid she won't be heard.

But Pippa is desperate for any sort of love, so long as she finds it fit for her. Her best friend is Felicity Worthington--and Felicity is the most important person in her life. Pippa loves Felicity, and she would do most anything for her. When her position as Felicity's sole confidante and best friend is compromised, Pippa reacts badly. She attempts to appeal to Felicity, even if it is in vain. Felicity accepts Pippa--and that's what she wants. Pippa knows that since she's beautiful, she'll be fought over as a prize. Pippa is compared to "a fine piece of china" by her prospective fiancé. For a girl like Pippa who craves love and attention, being engaged to someone who treats her as a valuable item instead of a person is devastating.

Of course, that "fine piece of china" has a deep, dark secret: Pippa has epilepsy. She's been taught her whole life that it's a terrible affliction. Her parents stress the importance of her never revealing her epilepsy--it's a shameful thing, if only because she would be unfit for marriage if her illness is ever brought to light. But Pippa is desperate for love, for acceptance. While Pippa is very much the epitome of social norms and expectations, there are some things she'd go to great lengths for. And so Pippa, hoping to break off the engagement with a man who does not love her for her, tells him about her affliction.

And so Pippa is not the perfect lady she's expected to be. It's interesting that Pippa is such a contradiction: She hates being stifled and hates prescribing to social norms and expectations, but she openly defies them from time to time. It helps that Felicity encourages her too; because Pippa is so incredibly loyal to her friend, she'll follow her every step and action. Pippa's loyalty does not end at Felicity, though. Until she starts to become more assertive, more concerned with what she wants and not what everyone else wants, Pippa is very willing to loyally follow anyone in a higher position.

Which is why Pippa resigns herself to her fate: marrying Bumble. There's another word to describe Pippa: resigned. She even tells Gemma, "Have to... my whole life has been that...I'm not a fighter. Not like you." Pippa knows she's valuable for her looks and her body, and that eats at her very, very much. It's interesting that Pippa is so willing to go against rules and such, that she's willing to go against decorum and not act the proper lady. After all, it's without (much) hesitation that Pippa strips down to chase a deer intended for sacrifice in her desperation to return to the realms; that she willingly consumes alcohol without much of a thought; that she tells Bumble about her epilepsy in an attempt to stop her loveless marriage. Pippa is also not unwilling to engage in "depravity," or at least talk about it. She makes some surprisingly sexual comments--and seems to delight in it.

"Our mysterious Gemma," Felicity says..."We'll find out what you're hiding from us yet."

Pippa joins in. "A crazy aunt in the attic, perhaps."

"Or a sexually depraved fiend who preys on young girls." Felicity waggles her eyebrows. Pippa screeches in mock horror but she's titillated by the very idea."

"You forgot the hunchback," I add with a false laugh.

..."A sexually depraved hunchback!" Pippa squeals.

But despite all her cruelness and obliviousness, Pippa does have her kind moments. They're few and far between for the most part, but Pippa does have the capacity for kindness. She truly does love her friends despite every snappy comment she makes, especially Felicity. To Pippa, the sun in her world is Felicity, and she'd do nearly anything for her. When Pippa makes a cruel comment to Ann about no one wanting her, after she's informed how cruel she'd been, Pippa apologizes immediately. She is grief-stricken, and later on, Gemma comments on how "Pippa just seems glad to have Felicity's attention." This relates back to her craving for attention. Another aspect of Pippa's kindness is the fact that, once she accepts someone into her circle, she loves them deeply.

After all, above all else, Pippa wants love--and she'll do near anything to have it.
Abilities: Pippa's a pretty fantastic actress. She's able to persuade people to bend to her will (especially men). She also has the ability to use magic--but only in the realms at first. Her powers are somewhat limited in the real world, but in the realms, Pippa's able to create any and all of her heart's desires.
Strengths:
Adaptable
Determined
Romantic
Loyal
Proper

Weaknesses:
Vain
Selfish
Cruel
Resigned
Desperate

God/Shinki: God
Why?: Pippa is excruciatingly beautiful--which gives her some semblance of power in her home world. Despite her ultimate fate, Pippa is a driving force of her own fate. She knows she doesn't need to be married to be happy, and she strong-arms her fiancé into breaking their engagement. And it works! For a while, at least. Additionally, since gods grant wishes of people, that aspect very much ties into Pippa's outlook on romance. Finally, Pippa is used to giving orders, so taking a shinki would be pretty commonplace for her.
Top 3 Choices: Aphrodite (Greek), Lauma (Baltic), Samhain (Celtic)
God Type: Pippa will definitely be the type to grant wishes. She might be a bit unsure about taking on the sins of her past incarnations: They have nothing to do with her, so why should she be responsible for them?
Power: The power to conjure illusions.

Writing Sample

Sample: With Ludger on the TDM.

Other

Anything Else?: A shinki who's the knightly type would be ideal for Pippa! Or one who's very invested in romance.