Post by Polly on Nov 10, 2010 19:32:55 GMT -8
Original Character Application
Name: Polly Oxford
Occupation/Skills: Polly Oxford is the owner of the Deer Yard Hotel. She's a good cook and an amateur historian. In fact, she keeps an exhibit of the town and its history on the hotel's small second floor, and also keeps her 'archive,' which consists of a few dusty boxes full of scrapbooks of newspaper articles and photos of the town and inhabitants. To relax, she likes to read cozy mysteries.
Personality: A word most people would use to describe Polly is "sweet." She always has a kind word and a smile for everyone.
The few that wouldn't use the word sweet tend to prefer "nosy old bat." Along with ministering to the needy and upset, she's also an inveterate gossip and is extremely interested in what goes on in town. Some folks would say she's a little too...pushy sometimes. Especially when she thinks someone needs help whether they like it or not.
She's a very strong and forceful person, although this isn't always apparent on the surface.
History: Polly grew up happily in Greenvale; she spent most of her time as a child looking after her younger siblings. As she grew older her attention of course turned toward the social dramas most people face in adolescence, and a handsome young beau who thought the world of her. In what felt like a natural progression, they got married and had two children, Mary and Jack. They lived in a small two-bedroom home near the center of town where her husband Oliver worked as a postman and she became a very bored stay at home mother, wishing something would happen to shake things up.
Of course, it did.
On a certain evening in the 1950s, after Polly had put the children to bed, Oliver stepped out for some air, claiming the house was too stuffy to breathe, with every window closed and not a crack the wind could push through. Polly, being too tired to go out but too comfortable to go to bed, stayed in the living room reading a book.
At first, she was too caught up in her reading to notice the screams outside. When they finally did filter through her ears enough for her to look up, she saw things through her front window that would give her nightmares for many years to come. The pinnacle came when she saw her younger sister, a nurse at the hospital, axed down by a giant of a man in a raincoat.
Polly spent the rest of the night standing guard over her children's room with a shotgun she wasn't entirely sure how to fire. When dawn finally came, her children hadn't stirred and her husband hadn't come home. He never would.
Polly never found out exactly what happened to him. She was angered by the military's gag order, and the fact that no one would talk even in secret about such a horrific event kept her off balance and eventually made her wonder if it happened at all. She started keeping her scrapbooks and journals around this time, trying in a small way to grasp hold of affairs in town and keep them from fading away in the wind.
She found work cleaning in some of the businesses around Greenvale, and was able to support her children. Her family drifted apart; her parents and remaining siblings moving to different parts of the country and losing touch with each other. A certain Mr. Oxford drifted into town to work in the growing lumber industry, and caught Polly's attention. She would save away moments in her busy life to spend with him. They would go on walks around town and share dreams with each other. One that stood out in particular that they would keep returning to was the idea of going into business, opening a hotel, something like that. After about a year of courting, he proposed and she said yes. They (with some help from his family along with the sale of Polly's old house) just about managed to buy a large parcel of land by the lake and begin building a large hotel. Money was hard to come by at first, but business was very good. Even people who wouldn't normally stay the night in town were swayed by the Oxfords' hospitality and beautiful surroundings. And, of course, Polly's amazing cooking.
Life was everything Polly had ever wanted for the next couple of decades. Her children grew up and moved away, but she felt her life was still completely full and exciting. She loved her husband dearly, although they had their small fights--no marriage is perfect and Polly is very strong willed.
Sadly, the lumber trade fell off, and of course the hotel's business suffered. Fortunately, the Oxfords had accumulated enough money over the years to run the hotel even if there were no guests for the next half-century and beyond. Life continued on until poor Mr. Oxford suffered a fatal heart attack just before the turn of the century, and Polly was left alone. Polly being Polly, she was able to pick herself up fairly quickly. She still runs the hotel for her own entertainment, and she's waiting impatiently to see what life brings her next.
RP Sample: Polly glanced at the covers of today's newspapers in longing, but she knew she had a long day ahead of her. She'd indulge in the salacious headlines that night, but she really had to get some work done before her guests arrived. So many guests! Poor Anna, she thought, touching the newspaper's flat reproduction of the girl's face. Polly hadn't known her well, but she seemed like such a nice girl. It was such a shame that it should be such a tragedy that brought so much life back to town. This murder was a horrid thing, of course, but she had to admit it was exciting, too. She was especially looking forward to meeting this FBI agent that was coming to stay. She'd never seen one of those before.
But she had to get the rooms ready first. Polly grabbed her cleaning cart and checked the register. Since there was never much business , she tended just to keep a few rooms ready and let the rest gather dust. The practice usually saved time, but now it was backfiring on her. She bent over to pick up a duster that fell off the cart. So many people from all over the globe--just like the good old days. She suddenly felt a small ping in her back which turned into a large pain when she tried, and failed, to straighten back up, forcing her to stay bent over the feather duster. Oh, no, she thought in panic,I have more guests than I've seen in years, and I can't stand up...
Name: Polly Oxford
Occupation/Skills: Polly Oxford is the owner of the Deer Yard Hotel. She's a good cook and an amateur historian. In fact, she keeps an exhibit of the town and its history on the hotel's small second floor, and also keeps her 'archive,' which consists of a few dusty boxes full of scrapbooks of newspaper articles and photos of the town and inhabitants. To relax, she likes to read cozy mysteries.
Personality: A word most people would use to describe Polly is "sweet." She always has a kind word and a smile for everyone.
The few that wouldn't use the word sweet tend to prefer "nosy old bat." Along with ministering to the needy and upset, she's also an inveterate gossip and is extremely interested in what goes on in town. Some folks would say she's a little too...pushy sometimes. Especially when she thinks someone needs help whether they like it or not.
She's a very strong and forceful person, although this isn't always apparent on the surface.
History: Polly grew up happily in Greenvale; she spent most of her time as a child looking after her younger siblings. As she grew older her attention of course turned toward the social dramas most people face in adolescence, and a handsome young beau who thought the world of her. In what felt like a natural progression, they got married and had two children, Mary and Jack. They lived in a small two-bedroom home near the center of town where her husband Oliver worked as a postman and she became a very bored stay at home mother, wishing something would happen to shake things up.
Of course, it did.
On a certain evening in the 1950s, after Polly had put the children to bed, Oliver stepped out for some air, claiming the house was too stuffy to breathe, with every window closed and not a crack the wind could push through. Polly, being too tired to go out but too comfortable to go to bed, stayed in the living room reading a book.
At first, she was too caught up in her reading to notice the screams outside. When they finally did filter through her ears enough for her to look up, she saw things through her front window that would give her nightmares for many years to come. The pinnacle came when she saw her younger sister, a nurse at the hospital, axed down by a giant of a man in a raincoat.
Polly spent the rest of the night standing guard over her children's room with a shotgun she wasn't entirely sure how to fire. When dawn finally came, her children hadn't stirred and her husband hadn't come home. He never would.
Polly never found out exactly what happened to him. She was angered by the military's gag order, and the fact that no one would talk even in secret about such a horrific event kept her off balance and eventually made her wonder if it happened at all. She started keeping her scrapbooks and journals around this time, trying in a small way to grasp hold of affairs in town and keep them from fading away in the wind.
She found work cleaning in some of the businesses around Greenvale, and was able to support her children. Her family drifted apart; her parents and remaining siblings moving to different parts of the country and losing touch with each other. A certain Mr. Oxford drifted into town to work in the growing lumber industry, and caught Polly's attention. She would save away moments in her busy life to spend with him. They would go on walks around town and share dreams with each other. One that stood out in particular that they would keep returning to was the idea of going into business, opening a hotel, something like that. After about a year of courting, he proposed and she said yes. They (with some help from his family along with the sale of Polly's old house) just about managed to buy a large parcel of land by the lake and begin building a large hotel. Money was hard to come by at first, but business was very good. Even people who wouldn't normally stay the night in town were swayed by the Oxfords' hospitality and beautiful surroundings. And, of course, Polly's amazing cooking.
Life was everything Polly had ever wanted for the next couple of decades. Her children grew up and moved away, but she felt her life was still completely full and exciting. She loved her husband dearly, although they had their small fights--no marriage is perfect and Polly is very strong willed.
Sadly, the lumber trade fell off, and of course the hotel's business suffered. Fortunately, the Oxfords had accumulated enough money over the years to run the hotel even if there were no guests for the next half-century and beyond. Life continued on until poor Mr. Oxford suffered a fatal heart attack just before the turn of the century, and Polly was left alone. Polly being Polly, she was able to pick herself up fairly quickly. She still runs the hotel for her own entertainment, and she's waiting impatiently to see what life brings her next.
RP Sample: Polly glanced at the covers of today's newspapers in longing, but she knew she had a long day ahead of her. She'd indulge in the salacious headlines that night, but she really had to get some work done before her guests arrived. So many guests! Poor Anna, she thought, touching the newspaper's flat reproduction of the girl's face. Polly hadn't known her well, but she seemed like such a nice girl. It was such a shame that it should be such a tragedy that brought so much life back to town. This murder was a horrid thing, of course, but she had to admit it was exciting, too. She was especially looking forward to meeting this FBI agent that was coming to stay. She'd never seen one of those before.
But she had to get the rooms ready first. Polly grabbed her cleaning cart and checked the register. Since there was never much business , she tended just to keep a few rooms ready and let the rest gather dust. The practice usually saved time, but now it was backfiring on her. She bent over to pick up a duster that fell off the cart. So many people from all over the globe--just like the good old days. She suddenly felt a small ping in her back which turned into a large pain when she tried, and failed, to straighten back up, forcing her to stay bent over the feather duster. Oh, no, she thought in panic,I have more guests than I've seen in years, and I can't stand up...
A Deadly Premonition fansite
Emily drawing by Animagess