OOC: Ruby App
May. 3rd, 2014 04:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
puffbonnetPLAYER
Name: Mandy
Age: 27
Personal Journal:maplepancakes
E-mail: silvershine_@hotmail.com
AIM/MSN/etc: PANDABEAR1328
CHARACTER
Name: Ivy Tunstell
Canon: Parasol Protectorate (series)
Age: 28
Timeline: The end of book 5
If playing another character from the same canon, how will you deal with this?: N/A
Personality: When she was first introduced, Ivy was said to be "not-too-pretty and not-too-rich," Meaning she had just enough looks and wealth to get by. She never stood out or shone on her own, and instead was seen as somewhat of an accessory. If Ivy lived in a modern-day romantic comedy, she would be the kind-of-pretty best friend that the main guy has to befriend in order to get the girl of his dreams. She is easily overlooked, and she blends into the background until she says or does something to bring attention to herself. The story is not about her, it is about her best friend, and she is 'just enough' to fill the role she was given. This image of her carries on for most of the series, in fact.
At a glance, Ivy looks like a complete airhead. She is far too focused on her own view of the world, which is full of dinner parties, drama, and unbelievably horrid hats. Often she completely overlooks the big picture to focus on one tiny detail, and then she spends far too long making observations about that detail, thus wasting time that could be better spent on other things. An excellent example of this comes from the third book in the series, where Ivy's best friend Alexia has to travel to Italy for plot-related reasons. Instead of worrying about her friend's health or well-being on such a dangerous journey, or even wondering why such a trip was necessary in the first place, She instead told her friend, "You do know that there are Italians in Italy, right?" Indeed, Ivy looks like a textbook example of someone with their head in the clouds, which is probably why she was kept out of the loop on most of the plot in the series.
Ivy is also blessed with boundless amounts of energy. She never seems to grow tired, no matter how long she's been blabbering on about something. She is probably the most energetic person in the whole series, and she just bleeds energy and positive vibes from her body. Her peppy attitude and bounce to her step are absolutely infectious, too. It is hard to be around her without at least cracking a smile. She is also incredibly affectionate, and she just loves showering people with affection and calling them by cutesy nicknames whenever she can. She is not one to tune down this affection, either: if she is fond of you, she will make that clear every chance she gets.
Ivy can also get emotional at times. She tries her best to keep up the appearance of a prim and proper lady of society, but sometimes she is surprised or her excitement gets away from her. Ivy doesn't always have the best poker face, so at times it can be easy to see just how she is feeling. Usually inducing excitement, surprise, or sadness are what get her to react. She can also be a bit snippy at times, especially when she is put in a situation she does not want to be in. Surprisingly, Ivy is very good at containing her anger. This fact is also the early hint that there is more to Ivy than the 'bubbly best friend' appearance she initially gives.
You see, later in the series that Ivy really starts to shine on her own, though she had been laying the groundwork for it for the entire series. She has a much sharper mind than she let on, and she actually figured out what was going on before anyone saw it fit to let her in on what was going on. She even said it herself when confronted about it: when people think you're to stupid to string two thoughts together, their lips grow loose. Ivy knew about the dangerous things her friends were involved in, but she was also smart enough to realize that she could help best by playing dumb and spying on the people who were out to hurt Alexia. That said, Ivy isn't all deceit and lies and being sneaky. At least some of her bubbly personality is real, as she still acts like a goofball even when there's nobody around that she needs to fool. For the most part, Ivy is just a young adult who wants to have fun and be free-spirited and not worry about things if she can avoid it. She's just also smart enough to know when to be free-spirited and when to buckle down and get serious.
For most of the series, Ivy is a human, which puts her at a serious disadvantage. She hasn't been trained to fight, and she has no superpowers to compensate her lack of training. Furthermore, while she is very perceptive, she really doesn't have any book smarts beyond the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Her smarts are more of a practical kind of knowledge, as opposed to something a person can be trained in. She is not a super-genius, nor does she have any intrinsically useful skill like knowing medicine or the sciences. And really, that's par for the course, given the time period she's from. In the 1870s, most women settled down, had kids, and kept the household going. Anything beyond that was never expected of Ivy, so she never learned it.
However, there are some things Ivy is talented at, and when she's good at something she absolutely shines at it. For one, Ivy is an exceptionally talented actress, so much so that she makes a decent living off of her acting skills alone. She can play anything on the stage, whether that stage is literal or "the stage of life." This is why Ivy is the one who gets information for everyone else. She's very good at blending in with the background, which helps her get information, since she can listen in on conversations without anyone realizing that she's there. Most people underestimate her as well, since they're not expecting her to be an actual threat to anything. This has helped her friends on more than one occasion.
Additionally, some of Ivy's disadvantages have changed since she became a vampire. Most notably, she now is physically stronger than she was, and she is starting to become more educated too. But since she was only recently turned into a vampire (as in, a few weeks ago tops), she is still learning how to use her newly changed body, and there are some mishaps. Like accidentally putting her hand through a door when she just meant to push it open. Or cracking a wine glass in her hand. Ivy can be very emotional, and when her emotions run high, her new strength gets the better of her.
Ivy is very good at leading a group. She and her husband actually run the acting troupe they are in, so together they are in charge of managing everything from picking the plays they perform to making sure they have a venue to play at. With her ability to pay attention to detail, Ivy makes sure everything for the troupe runs smoothly. Given the success of her troupe, she makes for a very talented manager. Along with that, Ivy is quickly taking over in her role as the new queen of this hive of vampires she has found herself running. Not everyone agrees with her decisions, since they are very different from the previous queen's, but Ivy has a way of getting what she wants out of people. Her experience in leading a troupe of actors has helped her build her people skills.
Ivy is also very good at balancing both her work and her home life. She has two young children who rely on her for pretty much everything, since they're just barely toddlers, and yet she still has time to both take care of them and run her acting troupe and perform in some of the plays and keep her home nice and tidy. Her boundless energy probably helps with this, since anyone else would be exhausted by the end of the day, but Ivy is just ready for more. What's more, she manages to keep track of everything and not misplace anything or forget important events. Her schedule book helps with that, but she still has to keep most of it straight in her mind, and she does so with ease. Even with the addition of a few new helpers and a few new tasks, Ivy can keep on top of everything pretty easily.
Finally, Ivy is by far one of the bravest characters in the entire series. For most of the series, she is a completely normal person surrounded by werewolves, vampires, and all other kinds of creatures of the night. Most humans are actually terrified of any supernatural beings, but Ivy isn't. Instead of showing fear, she takes on any supernatural threat without so much as a second thought. Not only that, but Ivy faces the unknown without backing down or running away. She knows what she has to do to survive and keep her friends alive, and even though she is vastly outclassed by pretty much everyone around her, Ivy never shows fear. Even if the person she is talking to could crush her with just a thought, Ivy stands tall and talks bravely. That bravery has only grown since she has become a vampire, too. Now she has the physical strength to back up that bravery, which only makes her more confident.
Once you get right down to it, Ivy is just a very happy person who wants her friends to be happy too. She's got a sharp mind and is good at fooling people, but ultimately she is just a good person who wants to do good by everyone.
Strengths:
Ivy is a very creative and expressive person. Back home she was a budding actress and co-leader of her troop of actors. She is very skilled at getting others to listen to her and making a production come together.
As mentioned above, Ivy is a very good leader and manager. She can handle a dozen things at once and tell everyone where they need to go and what they need to do. So far this skill has mostly applied to acting and running her troupe and running her new hive, but this skill can easily be used in other areas as well.
Ivy is also good at keeping her home maintained. She knows how to cook, how to sew, how to do basic first-aid, how to care for children, and anything else that a wife from the 1870s would need to know. This definitely includes multi-tasking as well, since most moms then couldn't stop caring for their kids just because dinner needed to be cooked.
One final strength worth noting is that she is exceptionally talented as a spy. Because of her flighty and bubbly nature, she can seem incompetent and unable to be of any real use as far as intelligence goes. However, this is Ivy's secret weapon: people let their guard down around her, so she has overheard vital bits of information on more than one occasion. Her sharp mind is hidden behind a ditzy personality, so it is very easy for her to coax people into talking about just about anything.
Weaknesses:
While she might be good at leading people, Ivy still is a very silly person who does ridiculous things sometimes. Because of this, someone who has just met her would probably not take her seriously or trust her opinions on things. People see her acting strange, and they go "Really? THIS is the new vampire queen of London?" Of course, these doubts are usually dashed quickly, when they see how well she can lead others, but that first impression usually goes over terribly.
Also, Ivy is still learning how to use her vampire powers, so she is not fully in control of them. She breaks things without meaning to, and when her emotions flare up she can be dangerous. She still has to learn to better control herself, so that accidents don't happen.
The other weaknesses for vampires can be a real hindrance for her, especially the whole 'stuck in one home' thing. Ivy is a social butterfly, and it is hard to attend all the balls and galas when she has to host them to be able to go to them.
Ivy is also squeamish when it comes to blood, which is a huge problem, seeing as how she has to drink blood to survive.
Finally, Ivy just plain misses things sometimes. She is good at picking up on social details, like how Nobleman A is hiding something that may have to do with a missing person, or how Noblewoman B is constantly pining for someone other than her husband. But when it comes to math, science, and technology, Ivy just can't do anything. She only knows basic arithmetic, and she knows really basic science things, like how lions are mammals and how water freezes into ice. But ask her to do more complicated math, or try to explain the theory of relativity to her, and she is lost. Being technology-dumb will definitely play a big part in Box, since she's from a time before household electricity and telephones. It is going to take her some time to get adjusted to that.
Background: There is no comprehensive wiki for this book series, so I've written out Ivy's history.
Ivy Hisselpenny was born into the very tail-end of high society of Victorian-era London. Her family was rich enough for her to partake in the parties and such of high society, but they had to live on a very tight budget to do so without going bankrupt. Nothing much of note happened to her in the first 20-some years of her life, besides the usual parties and events the ridiculously wealthy attended. The one event of note from those early years is that Ivy befriended a 'spinster in the making' by the name of Alexia Tarabotti, who ended up being the whole reason Ivy got mixed up in the affairs of the supernatural.
See, Alexia is a preternatural. Preternaturals act as power-inhibitors of sorts for the supernatural: if a preternatural touches a supernatural (a vampire or werewolf, for example), then that supernatural will become human for as long as they remain in contact. It also involves a bunch of mumbo-jumbo with souls and the aether, but it's really complicated and not that pertinent for Ivy, so I won't go into the details here. All that's important about it for now is that Alexia was viewed as interesting to the supernatural world, and because of it Ivy often got dragged into her adventures with the supernatural.
At the start of the series, Ivy is a normal upper-class girl. Her involvement in the plot is very limited, as she is mostly a voice of concern whenever Alexia gets herself in trouble. Ivy is the one who advises Alexia to seek help when a hive of vampires suddenly wants to speak to her, and Ivy is also the one who supports Alexia when she starts getting frustrated about everything that is happening to her. Ivy's role seems to be 'bff who is there for Alexia to talk to about troubles.' She is also the prettiest bridesmaid at Alexia's wedding at the end of the book, which is where she also meets a man by the name of Tunstell.
The second book is where Ivy really starts to shine. Alexia has to go to Scotland to chase down her husband Conall, and one of the clavigers (basically humans who work for werewolf packs and help them during the daytime/full moon, with the hopes of eventually being selected to be turned into a werewolf) for her husband's pack goes along with her. That claviger happens to be Tunstell. When Alexia's sister Felicity sees that Tunstell is going, she decides to tag along as well, so she can flirt with him. Ivy quickly finds out about this, and she decides that she has to go too, because she is smitten with Tunstell and can't stand the idea of Felicity having unregulated access to him. This trip actually has an important purpose: the werewolf pack in Scotland was suddenly turned human, and Alexia has to investigate and find the reason for it. And really, Ivy does her best to try to help, but she also has to keep Felicity from wooing Tunstell in the process.
Ivy's main contribution to this trip is being the comic relief. Tensions are high because of the suddenly-human werewolves, and Conall isn't exactly a welcome member either. Ivy's ridiculousness at both the dinner party and several of the outings that the women take during that trip help to ease tensions, though. She continues to be the 'moral support' of the group, though her mental battles with Felicity get intense at times. Ultimately Ivy's part in the book ends when she elopes with Tunstell and escapes back to London.
Ivy is absent for most of the third book, as she remains in London while Alexia has adventures in Italy. She does play an important support role, though: a woman by the name of Madame Lefoux owns a hat shop in London, and while she is off on adventures with Alexia, Ivy runs the hat shop for her. Ivy also spends time collecting information for Alexia's sake (Alexia had been accused of adultery, because her husband is sterile but she ended up pregnant somehow. The werewolves are angry at her for appearing to be a cheater, and the vampires want her dead because they know she didn't cheat and that the baby she will give birth to is a danger to them) and mailing her updates on how things are going in London. She also tips off the London werewolf pack on an important sub-plot involving a missing drone (basically the vampire equivalent of a claviger) and a plot against Alexia.
The fourth book is another one of off-screen adventure for Ivy. Madame Lefoux takes over the hat shop again, and Alexia asks Ivy to head to Scotland to find out some things about the beta of Conall's pack. Ivy is able to root out that the beta was involved in a plot 20 years ago to get Conall to leave the Scotland pack and take control of the London pack, which was why the Scotland pack was angry at Conall back in book two. Also during this book, Ivy and her husband Tunstell gather some other people and form an acting troupe, and Ivy asks Alexia to be their patron, since she lost pretty much all of her personal wealth when she eloped with Tunstell. Alexia agrees to this, and by the end of the book Ivy is already hard at work getting their act worked out.
The fifth book takes place nearly two years after the fourth, and during that time skip Ivy has had a set of twins while still building up her troupe and preparing its first play, which is what the book opens with. It is an absolutely horrid affair, one that leaves Conall in tears from laughing so much. But Ivy seems to love it, despite the mixed reception, and she is a natural on the stage. So of course she has to volunteer to take the troupe on a trip to Egypt when she finds out that Alexia and Conall are going on a trip there! If Alexia is to meet the vampire queen of Alexandria, then ivy just has to perform her play for her.
While they are in Egypt, though, several things go wrong. First, Conall finds out about the trickery his beta had pulled in Scotland, and he is furious that Alexia hadn't told him about it. In addition to the sourness between Alexia and Conall, the first meeting with the vampires did not go over so well. They did not enjoy the play so much, and instead were very distracted with other matters, mostly to do with Alexia and her daughter Prudence.
Finally, one of Ivy's children is kidnapped, and she and Alexia have to run through the streets of Alexandria to chase down the kidnapper. Ultimately the kidnapper escapes, but the group is able to figure out who took the baby. The vampires were after Prudence, but since Prudence and Primrose (Ivy's daughter) are only a few months apart in age, they ended up grabbing the wrong baby. So, everyone goes back to the hive to confront the vampires, and it ends in a large brawl. During the fight, Ivy's throat is slit, and she is left on the ground to bleed to death. This being the 1870s, there is not much that can be done to help her.
However, Alexia comes up with a solution. See, the queen of the hive is very old, and wants to die. But if she dies, the other vampires in the hive will go crazy and wipe out the city of Alexandria before dying themselves. They need a replacement queen. So, Alexia offers up Ivy as the replacement, and the current queen converts Ivy into a vampire before dying.
Ivy's part in the series ends with her settling in to life as a vampire queen. She ends up moving the hive to London, amid much protest from the vampires and drones alike. She also continues to run her acting troupe as well as work at raising her two children.
Abilities: Ivy is a vampire. Vampires in the Parasol Protectorate world come with many of the usual strengths and weaknesses that vampires have: they heal near-instantaneously, have super-strength and super-senses, and are ageless. Along with this, they are immune to diseases and suffer no ill-effects from extreme temperatures (aside from heat from fire or sunlight). In exchange for those benefits, they cannot go outside during the day, cannot have their heart pierced by wood, cannot be near garlic or citrus, cannot be near fire, and have to drink blood to survive.
There are a few other oddities for Parasol Protectorate vampires as well. For one, vampires are limited to a small area around their 'home.' We are not told how large this is, but we do have one benchmark of sorts. One of the other vampires in the series can travel to most parts of London, but cannot go to the nearby countryside where the rich estates are. If a vampire travels too far from their home, they will go insane.
There are two exceptions to this. The first one is that, when a vampire is newly-created, they have a few months during which they can travel to wherever they want before finally settling down. This is meant to give vampires enough time to settle down in their own territory, as sometimes they have to travel quite far. Roves (vampires who do not live in a hive) do this by themselves, whereas hives only do this first-travel with a newly-made queen. The second time vampires can travel outside their territory is when they are directly threatened and forced into a 'fight or flight' scenario, and they choose to run. This is called 'swarming,' and they get about a day to find a new territory before they go insane.
Along with the limited territory, vampires in hives have another limitation: their lives are tied to their queen. They have to stay near their queen, and if their queen dies without a replacement ready, then they will go insane and start killing indiscriminately. They are basically there to serve the queen, so they do not have as many choices in life as roves have.
Since Ivy is a vampire queen, I will cover the special rules for them. Vampire queens are the only ones that can convert humans into vampires. Instead of the one set of fangs, they have two sets: 'feeders' and 'makers.' They can control their bites, so they don't accidentally end up converting every person they feed on. Additionally, queens are limited to a much smaller area than regular vampires. Whereas most vampires have a territory the size of a large city, queens are limited to their home. This home can be quite large in size (the other vampire queen of London first lived in a large estate in the city, and then in a sprawling countryside home with several houses on it) and includes the land the house is built on, allowing the queen to travel between several buildings on the property if need be. But they are bound by what area can be considered their 'home,' and cannot leave the boundaries of that home.
As a note, all of this can be turned 'off' by having Ivy come in contact with a living preternatural, or be in the same general vicinity as the body (or a body part) of a dead preternatural. She will turn back into a normal human if either of those conditions are met.
First Person: [Somebody does not know how these watches work.
There might be a few flashes of Ivy's face on the network, as she experiments with it and pushes a few buttons. Eventually, over the course of twenty minutes or so, manages to get the basics down. Press this button, and you can type letters. Press that, and your face appears on it. It's far more advanced than any technology she has ever seen, but that just makes it all the more interesting. She'll have to remember to save it for Lefoux, who would enjoy taking the watch apart and seeing what makes it tick.
Finally, Ivy decides to speak over the network, because as cool as this thing is she really does need to be getting home. As she speaks, there is a slight lisp to her words, which already might sound strange to some because of her 1870s London accent.]
Well! I must say, tonight has been a night for surprises. I had thought I was settled in to my home already, but apparently not. I won't complain, since I do enjoy being sound-of-mind, but I suspect that some people will be missing me very soon.
So, if there is anyone here who could direct me to Wimbledon? I seem to have strayed a bit far from home, as I do not recognize this area at all. I would have boarded the train back, but it left without me! The conductor was quite rude, to just dump a lady in the middle of nowhere like that.
[She huffs a bit as she remembers that. What kind of person just drives off when someone is trying to get back on the train? Clearly at least some of the people around here needed a lesson in manners.]
Third Person: It had been far too long since Ivy had enjoyed the thrill of opening night. After the trip to Egypt, and her sudden transformation from 'ordinary actress' to 'vampire queen,' Ivy had been left with a lot of work to do. She had to settle into a new home, one that was fit to run a hive out of, and she had to work at getting half-a-dozen vampires and several dozen drones acquainted with London. This was to be their new home, after all, and Ivy was going to make sure it was the best home she could offer them.
Of course, she had taken a few liberties when she had chosen a 'home' for her hive. An actress who couldn't appear on stage was no actress at all. And while some of the vampires had been less-than-pleased with Ivy's choices, they knew better than to argue with their queen. Ivy's word was their law, and they would have to get used to having an eccentric queen.
Behind stage, everyone was busy getting ready for the night's show. Ivy wasn't starring in this production, though. With all of the new drones and vampires, she had to work more as a director this time around. Not everyone who had come back with her from Egypt was trained for the stage, so they needed a little extra help, which Ivy was all too happy to provide. "Next time," Ivy silently told herself, as she helped adjust the cravat on one of the many butlers that would be appearing onstage tonight, "Next time I will return to the stage, where I belong."
Ivy moved from actor to actor, doing final checks before the 8 pm curtain call. Fortunately, most people only needed slight adjustments here and there. If nothing else, these drones knew how to dress well. Their previous queen had at least instilled that good behavior in them, which Ivy approved of. The vampires, however…
Ivy sighed in discontent as she looked over to the five gentlemen standing in the far back, who happened to be the only ones not in costume. Even though she had insisted that they be a part of this, they had all refused. They didn't want to stray far from their queen, and since Ivy was going to be backstage for most of the play, they wanted to be there too. Ivy had to commend them for their loyalty and dedication to her safety, but she was still disappointed. They would have made the most adorable bunch of singing flowers! It didn't matter that their English was still rusty, they could at least stand there and be handsome.
"Ivy dear," a familiar voice called, and Ivy quickly whirled around to meet her absolutely wonderful husband. She could see that all-too familiar crop of red hair from a mile away, and she quickly became all smiles when she saw him approaching.
"Oh, there you are Tunny darling," Ivy said happily, though her lisp was showing again, "I was beginning to think you had gotten lost in the catacombs or something."
She leaned in to give him a quick peck on the cheek, which in turn made him smile and pull her in for a quick hug. "Don't worry, I wouldn't miss this for the world," he said.
As they let go, Ivy continued to hold onto Tunstell's hand, pulling him along as she walked through the throng of actors and actresses working around them. "Isn't it wonderful," she said, "Our big re-debut! It's been far too long, hasn't it?"
"Nearly a year," Tunstell said, and then he hesitated for a moment before speaking again, "Though, dear…are you sure you want to give the opening speech?"
Ivy was surprised by this. "Well, why wouldn't I," she asked, "I am the leader of this troupe, am I not? It is only proper for me to give a warm welcome to our patrons before they enjoy the show."
"I know, and you are absolutely right," Tunstell said quickly, "It's just…well, your lisp…"
Ivy stopped where she was, and she let go of Tunstell's hand. She was now frowning at him, and she sounded a bit sharper as she said, "What's wrong with it? I've been working very hard on it, and it sounds a lot better now!"
This was not a fight Tunstell wanted to get into, even if it was for the greater good of protecting Ivy's image. "Of course it has," Tunstell said gently, "I meant to say that it might be difficult to project your voice, what with the fangs and all."
It was a weak excuse, but Ivy seemed to buy into it. She bounced right back, going from frowns to smiles as easy as someone might flip a page in a book. "That won't be a problem," she said enthusiastically, "I've been practicing. The drones have been a big help, they have sat in seats all throughout the theater, and they can hear me just fine."
Of course, drones were usually the type to just agree with what a vampire queen said. All of them wanted a chance at immortality, and angering a queen was counter-productive. And on some level, Ivy did know this. She had heard whispers in the hallways, when she had been quietly working on a script in one of the back rooms. Even as a queen, people tended to forget she was there, or at least forget that she was observant enough to pick up on those whispers. But she figured the drones wouldn't lie about something as important as this, which was where her naivety in regards to the motivations of drones would be hurtful.
Tunstell wasn't about to correct her on that either, but for another reason entirely: happy wives make for happy marriages. "Of course," he said, "You're absolutely right."
Ivy beamed, but there wasn't much time for her to enjoy being right. One of the stage-hands approached her to let her know that it was two minutes to curtain, and she had to get herself ready as well. She gave Tunstell one last quick kiss, and then she turned to the stage, ready to walk on as soon as the curtains went up.
Many people had doubted Ivy's choice of a hive. It was too public, they had said. Vampires normally kept their homes a secret, open only to those few they could trust. The other vampires had insisted it was a bad idea to welcome the public into her home, that it was just inviting spies and assassins, but Ivy did not care. She was an actress first, and as an actress her place was on the stage. And if you couldn't bring the actress to the stage, then you just had to bring the stage to the actress.
The definition of a 'home' for the purposes of a hive was pretty loose anyway. Who was to say that Ivy couldn't make an entire theater into her hive?
Name: Mandy
Age: 27
Personal Journal:
maplepancakesE-mail: silvershine_@hotmail.com
AIM/MSN/etc: PANDABEAR1328
CHARACTER
Name: Ivy Tunstell
Canon: Parasol Protectorate (series)
Age: 28
Timeline: The end of book 5
If playing another character from the same canon, how will you deal with this?: N/A
Personality: When she was first introduced, Ivy was said to be "not-too-pretty and not-too-rich," Meaning she had just enough looks and wealth to get by. She never stood out or shone on her own, and instead was seen as somewhat of an accessory. If Ivy lived in a modern-day romantic comedy, she would be the kind-of-pretty best friend that the main guy has to befriend in order to get the girl of his dreams. She is easily overlooked, and she blends into the background until she says or does something to bring attention to herself. The story is not about her, it is about her best friend, and she is 'just enough' to fill the role she was given. This image of her carries on for most of the series, in fact.
At a glance, Ivy looks like a complete airhead. She is far too focused on her own view of the world, which is full of dinner parties, drama, and unbelievably horrid hats. Often she completely overlooks the big picture to focus on one tiny detail, and then she spends far too long making observations about that detail, thus wasting time that could be better spent on other things. An excellent example of this comes from the third book in the series, where Ivy's best friend Alexia has to travel to Italy for plot-related reasons. Instead of worrying about her friend's health or well-being on such a dangerous journey, or even wondering why such a trip was necessary in the first place, She instead told her friend, "You do know that there are Italians in Italy, right?" Indeed, Ivy looks like a textbook example of someone with their head in the clouds, which is probably why she was kept out of the loop on most of the plot in the series.
Ivy is also blessed with boundless amounts of energy. She never seems to grow tired, no matter how long she's been blabbering on about something. She is probably the most energetic person in the whole series, and she just bleeds energy and positive vibes from her body. Her peppy attitude and bounce to her step are absolutely infectious, too. It is hard to be around her without at least cracking a smile. She is also incredibly affectionate, and she just loves showering people with affection and calling them by cutesy nicknames whenever she can. She is not one to tune down this affection, either: if she is fond of you, she will make that clear every chance she gets.
Ivy can also get emotional at times. She tries her best to keep up the appearance of a prim and proper lady of society, but sometimes she is surprised or her excitement gets away from her. Ivy doesn't always have the best poker face, so at times it can be easy to see just how she is feeling. Usually inducing excitement, surprise, or sadness are what get her to react. She can also be a bit snippy at times, especially when she is put in a situation she does not want to be in. Surprisingly, Ivy is very good at containing her anger. This fact is also the early hint that there is more to Ivy than the 'bubbly best friend' appearance she initially gives.
You see, later in the series that Ivy really starts to shine on her own, though she had been laying the groundwork for it for the entire series. She has a much sharper mind than she let on, and she actually figured out what was going on before anyone saw it fit to let her in on what was going on. She even said it herself when confronted about it: when people think you're to stupid to string two thoughts together, their lips grow loose. Ivy knew about the dangerous things her friends were involved in, but she was also smart enough to realize that she could help best by playing dumb and spying on the people who were out to hurt Alexia. That said, Ivy isn't all deceit and lies and being sneaky. At least some of her bubbly personality is real, as she still acts like a goofball even when there's nobody around that she needs to fool. For the most part, Ivy is just a young adult who wants to have fun and be free-spirited and not worry about things if she can avoid it. She's just also smart enough to know when to be free-spirited and when to buckle down and get serious.
For most of the series, Ivy is a human, which puts her at a serious disadvantage. She hasn't been trained to fight, and she has no superpowers to compensate her lack of training. Furthermore, while she is very perceptive, she really doesn't have any book smarts beyond the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Her smarts are more of a practical kind of knowledge, as opposed to something a person can be trained in. She is not a super-genius, nor does she have any intrinsically useful skill like knowing medicine or the sciences. And really, that's par for the course, given the time period she's from. In the 1870s, most women settled down, had kids, and kept the household going. Anything beyond that was never expected of Ivy, so she never learned it.
However, there are some things Ivy is talented at, and when she's good at something she absolutely shines at it. For one, Ivy is an exceptionally talented actress, so much so that she makes a decent living off of her acting skills alone. She can play anything on the stage, whether that stage is literal or "the stage of life." This is why Ivy is the one who gets information for everyone else. She's very good at blending in with the background, which helps her get information, since she can listen in on conversations without anyone realizing that she's there. Most people underestimate her as well, since they're not expecting her to be an actual threat to anything. This has helped her friends on more than one occasion.
Additionally, some of Ivy's disadvantages have changed since she became a vampire. Most notably, she now is physically stronger than she was, and she is starting to become more educated too. But since she was only recently turned into a vampire (as in, a few weeks ago tops), she is still learning how to use her newly changed body, and there are some mishaps. Like accidentally putting her hand through a door when she just meant to push it open. Or cracking a wine glass in her hand. Ivy can be very emotional, and when her emotions run high, her new strength gets the better of her.
Ivy is very good at leading a group. She and her husband actually run the acting troupe they are in, so together they are in charge of managing everything from picking the plays they perform to making sure they have a venue to play at. With her ability to pay attention to detail, Ivy makes sure everything for the troupe runs smoothly. Given the success of her troupe, she makes for a very talented manager. Along with that, Ivy is quickly taking over in her role as the new queen of this hive of vampires she has found herself running. Not everyone agrees with her decisions, since they are very different from the previous queen's, but Ivy has a way of getting what she wants out of people. Her experience in leading a troupe of actors has helped her build her people skills.
Ivy is also very good at balancing both her work and her home life. She has two young children who rely on her for pretty much everything, since they're just barely toddlers, and yet she still has time to both take care of them and run her acting troupe and perform in some of the plays and keep her home nice and tidy. Her boundless energy probably helps with this, since anyone else would be exhausted by the end of the day, but Ivy is just ready for more. What's more, she manages to keep track of everything and not misplace anything or forget important events. Her schedule book helps with that, but she still has to keep most of it straight in her mind, and she does so with ease. Even with the addition of a few new helpers and a few new tasks, Ivy can keep on top of everything pretty easily.
Finally, Ivy is by far one of the bravest characters in the entire series. For most of the series, she is a completely normal person surrounded by werewolves, vampires, and all other kinds of creatures of the night. Most humans are actually terrified of any supernatural beings, but Ivy isn't. Instead of showing fear, she takes on any supernatural threat without so much as a second thought. Not only that, but Ivy faces the unknown without backing down or running away. She knows what she has to do to survive and keep her friends alive, and even though she is vastly outclassed by pretty much everyone around her, Ivy never shows fear. Even if the person she is talking to could crush her with just a thought, Ivy stands tall and talks bravely. That bravery has only grown since she has become a vampire, too. Now she has the physical strength to back up that bravery, which only makes her more confident.
Once you get right down to it, Ivy is just a very happy person who wants her friends to be happy too. She's got a sharp mind and is good at fooling people, but ultimately she is just a good person who wants to do good by everyone.
Strengths:
Ivy is a very creative and expressive person. Back home she was a budding actress and co-leader of her troop of actors. She is very skilled at getting others to listen to her and making a production come together.
As mentioned above, Ivy is a very good leader and manager. She can handle a dozen things at once and tell everyone where they need to go and what they need to do. So far this skill has mostly applied to acting and running her troupe and running her new hive, but this skill can easily be used in other areas as well.
Ivy is also good at keeping her home maintained. She knows how to cook, how to sew, how to do basic first-aid, how to care for children, and anything else that a wife from the 1870s would need to know. This definitely includes multi-tasking as well, since most moms then couldn't stop caring for their kids just because dinner needed to be cooked.
One final strength worth noting is that she is exceptionally talented as a spy. Because of her flighty and bubbly nature, she can seem incompetent and unable to be of any real use as far as intelligence goes. However, this is Ivy's secret weapon: people let their guard down around her, so she has overheard vital bits of information on more than one occasion. Her sharp mind is hidden behind a ditzy personality, so it is very easy for her to coax people into talking about just about anything.
Weaknesses:
While she might be good at leading people, Ivy still is a very silly person who does ridiculous things sometimes. Because of this, someone who has just met her would probably not take her seriously or trust her opinions on things. People see her acting strange, and they go "Really? THIS is the new vampire queen of London?" Of course, these doubts are usually dashed quickly, when they see how well she can lead others, but that first impression usually goes over terribly.
Also, Ivy is still learning how to use her vampire powers, so she is not fully in control of them. She breaks things without meaning to, and when her emotions flare up she can be dangerous. She still has to learn to better control herself, so that accidents don't happen.
The other weaknesses for vampires can be a real hindrance for her, especially the whole 'stuck in one home' thing. Ivy is a social butterfly, and it is hard to attend all the balls and galas when she has to host them to be able to go to them.
Ivy is also squeamish when it comes to blood, which is a huge problem, seeing as how she has to drink blood to survive.
Finally, Ivy just plain misses things sometimes. She is good at picking up on social details, like how Nobleman A is hiding something that may have to do with a missing person, or how Noblewoman B is constantly pining for someone other than her husband. But when it comes to math, science, and technology, Ivy just can't do anything. She only knows basic arithmetic, and she knows really basic science things, like how lions are mammals and how water freezes into ice. But ask her to do more complicated math, or try to explain the theory of relativity to her, and she is lost. Being technology-dumb will definitely play a big part in Box, since she's from a time before household electricity and telephones. It is going to take her some time to get adjusted to that.
Background: There is no comprehensive wiki for this book series, so I've written out Ivy's history.
Ivy Hisselpenny was born into the very tail-end of high society of Victorian-era London. Her family was rich enough for her to partake in the parties and such of high society, but they had to live on a very tight budget to do so without going bankrupt. Nothing much of note happened to her in the first 20-some years of her life, besides the usual parties and events the ridiculously wealthy attended. The one event of note from those early years is that Ivy befriended a 'spinster in the making' by the name of Alexia Tarabotti, who ended up being the whole reason Ivy got mixed up in the affairs of the supernatural.
See, Alexia is a preternatural. Preternaturals act as power-inhibitors of sorts for the supernatural: if a preternatural touches a supernatural (a vampire or werewolf, for example), then that supernatural will become human for as long as they remain in contact. It also involves a bunch of mumbo-jumbo with souls and the aether, but it's really complicated and not that pertinent for Ivy, so I won't go into the details here. All that's important about it for now is that Alexia was viewed as interesting to the supernatural world, and because of it Ivy often got dragged into her adventures with the supernatural.
At the start of the series, Ivy is a normal upper-class girl. Her involvement in the plot is very limited, as she is mostly a voice of concern whenever Alexia gets herself in trouble. Ivy is the one who advises Alexia to seek help when a hive of vampires suddenly wants to speak to her, and Ivy is also the one who supports Alexia when she starts getting frustrated about everything that is happening to her. Ivy's role seems to be 'bff who is there for Alexia to talk to about troubles.' She is also the prettiest bridesmaid at Alexia's wedding at the end of the book, which is where she also meets a man by the name of Tunstell.
The second book is where Ivy really starts to shine. Alexia has to go to Scotland to chase down her husband Conall, and one of the clavigers (basically humans who work for werewolf packs and help them during the daytime/full moon, with the hopes of eventually being selected to be turned into a werewolf) for her husband's pack goes along with her. That claviger happens to be Tunstell. When Alexia's sister Felicity sees that Tunstell is going, she decides to tag along as well, so she can flirt with him. Ivy quickly finds out about this, and she decides that she has to go too, because she is smitten with Tunstell and can't stand the idea of Felicity having unregulated access to him. This trip actually has an important purpose: the werewolf pack in Scotland was suddenly turned human, and Alexia has to investigate and find the reason for it. And really, Ivy does her best to try to help, but she also has to keep Felicity from wooing Tunstell in the process.
Ivy's main contribution to this trip is being the comic relief. Tensions are high because of the suddenly-human werewolves, and Conall isn't exactly a welcome member either. Ivy's ridiculousness at both the dinner party and several of the outings that the women take during that trip help to ease tensions, though. She continues to be the 'moral support' of the group, though her mental battles with Felicity get intense at times. Ultimately Ivy's part in the book ends when she elopes with Tunstell and escapes back to London.
Ivy is absent for most of the third book, as she remains in London while Alexia has adventures in Italy. She does play an important support role, though: a woman by the name of Madame Lefoux owns a hat shop in London, and while she is off on adventures with Alexia, Ivy runs the hat shop for her. Ivy also spends time collecting information for Alexia's sake (Alexia had been accused of adultery, because her husband is sterile but she ended up pregnant somehow. The werewolves are angry at her for appearing to be a cheater, and the vampires want her dead because they know she didn't cheat and that the baby she will give birth to is a danger to them) and mailing her updates on how things are going in London. She also tips off the London werewolf pack on an important sub-plot involving a missing drone (basically the vampire equivalent of a claviger) and a plot against Alexia.
The fourth book is another one of off-screen adventure for Ivy. Madame Lefoux takes over the hat shop again, and Alexia asks Ivy to head to Scotland to find out some things about the beta of Conall's pack. Ivy is able to root out that the beta was involved in a plot 20 years ago to get Conall to leave the Scotland pack and take control of the London pack, which was why the Scotland pack was angry at Conall back in book two. Also during this book, Ivy and her husband Tunstell gather some other people and form an acting troupe, and Ivy asks Alexia to be their patron, since she lost pretty much all of her personal wealth when she eloped with Tunstell. Alexia agrees to this, and by the end of the book Ivy is already hard at work getting their act worked out.
The fifth book takes place nearly two years after the fourth, and during that time skip Ivy has had a set of twins while still building up her troupe and preparing its first play, which is what the book opens with. It is an absolutely horrid affair, one that leaves Conall in tears from laughing so much. But Ivy seems to love it, despite the mixed reception, and she is a natural on the stage. So of course she has to volunteer to take the troupe on a trip to Egypt when she finds out that Alexia and Conall are going on a trip there! If Alexia is to meet the vampire queen of Alexandria, then ivy just has to perform her play for her.
While they are in Egypt, though, several things go wrong. First, Conall finds out about the trickery his beta had pulled in Scotland, and he is furious that Alexia hadn't told him about it. In addition to the sourness between Alexia and Conall, the first meeting with the vampires did not go over so well. They did not enjoy the play so much, and instead were very distracted with other matters, mostly to do with Alexia and her daughter Prudence.
Finally, one of Ivy's children is kidnapped, and she and Alexia have to run through the streets of Alexandria to chase down the kidnapper. Ultimately the kidnapper escapes, but the group is able to figure out who took the baby. The vampires were after Prudence, but since Prudence and Primrose (Ivy's daughter) are only a few months apart in age, they ended up grabbing the wrong baby. So, everyone goes back to the hive to confront the vampires, and it ends in a large brawl. During the fight, Ivy's throat is slit, and she is left on the ground to bleed to death. This being the 1870s, there is not much that can be done to help her.
However, Alexia comes up with a solution. See, the queen of the hive is very old, and wants to die. But if she dies, the other vampires in the hive will go crazy and wipe out the city of Alexandria before dying themselves. They need a replacement queen. So, Alexia offers up Ivy as the replacement, and the current queen converts Ivy into a vampire before dying.
Ivy's part in the series ends with her settling in to life as a vampire queen. She ends up moving the hive to London, amid much protest from the vampires and drones alike. She also continues to run her acting troupe as well as work at raising her two children.
Abilities: Ivy is a vampire. Vampires in the Parasol Protectorate world come with many of the usual strengths and weaknesses that vampires have: they heal near-instantaneously, have super-strength and super-senses, and are ageless. Along with this, they are immune to diseases and suffer no ill-effects from extreme temperatures (aside from heat from fire or sunlight). In exchange for those benefits, they cannot go outside during the day, cannot have their heart pierced by wood, cannot be near garlic or citrus, cannot be near fire, and have to drink blood to survive.
There are a few other oddities for Parasol Protectorate vampires as well. For one, vampires are limited to a small area around their 'home.' We are not told how large this is, but we do have one benchmark of sorts. One of the other vampires in the series can travel to most parts of London, but cannot go to the nearby countryside where the rich estates are. If a vampire travels too far from their home, they will go insane.
There are two exceptions to this. The first one is that, when a vampire is newly-created, they have a few months during which they can travel to wherever they want before finally settling down. This is meant to give vampires enough time to settle down in their own territory, as sometimes they have to travel quite far. Roves (vampires who do not live in a hive) do this by themselves, whereas hives only do this first-travel with a newly-made queen. The second time vampires can travel outside their territory is when they are directly threatened and forced into a 'fight or flight' scenario, and they choose to run. This is called 'swarming,' and they get about a day to find a new territory before they go insane.
Along with the limited territory, vampires in hives have another limitation: their lives are tied to their queen. They have to stay near their queen, and if their queen dies without a replacement ready, then they will go insane and start killing indiscriminately. They are basically there to serve the queen, so they do not have as many choices in life as roves have.
Since Ivy is a vampire queen, I will cover the special rules for them. Vampire queens are the only ones that can convert humans into vampires. Instead of the one set of fangs, they have two sets: 'feeders' and 'makers.' They can control their bites, so they don't accidentally end up converting every person they feed on. Additionally, queens are limited to a much smaller area than regular vampires. Whereas most vampires have a territory the size of a large city, queens are limited to their home. This home can be quite large in size (the other vampire queen of London first lived in a large estate in the city, and then in a sprawling countryside home with several houses on it) and includes the land the house is built on, allowing the queen to travel between several buildings on the property if need be. But they are bound by what area can be considered their 'home,' and cannot leave the boundaries of that home.
As a note, all of this can be turned 'off' by having Ivy come in contact with a living preternatural, or be in the same general vicinity as the body (or a body part) of a dead preternatural. She will turn back into a normal human if either of those conditions are met.
First Person: [Somebody does not know how these watches work.
There might be a few flashes of Ivy's face on the network, as she experiments with it and pushes a few buttons. Eventually, over the course of twenty minutes or so, manages to get the basics down. Press this button, and you can type letters. Press that, and your face appears on it. It's far more advanced than any technology she has ever seen, but that just makes it all the more interesting. She'll have to remember to save it for Lefoux, who would enjoy taking the watch apart and seeing what makes it tick.
Finally, Ivy decides to speak over the network, because as cool as this thing is she really does need to be getting home. As she speaks, there is a slight lisp to her words, which already might sound strange to some because of her 1870s London accent.]
Well! I must say, tonight has been a night for surprises. I had thought I was settled in to my home already, but apparently not. I won't complain, since I do enjoy being sound-of-mind, but I suspect that some people will be missing me very soon.
So, if there is anyone here who could direct me to Wimbledon? I seem to have strayed a bit far from home, as I do not recognize this area at all. I would have boarded the train back, but it left without me! The conductor was quite rude, to just dump a lady in the middle of nowhere like that.
[She huffs a bit as she remembers that. What kind of person just drives off when someone is trying to get back on the train? Clearly at least some of the people around here needed a lesson in manners.]
Third Person: It had been far too long since Ivy had enjoyed the thrill of opening night. After the trip to Egypt, and her sudden transformation from 'ordinary actress' to 'vampire queen,' Ivy had been left with a lot of work to do. She had to settle into a new home, one that was fit to run a hive out of, and she had to work at getting half-a-dozen vampires and several dozen drones acquainted with London. This was to be their new home, after all, and Ivy was going to make sure it was the best home she could offer them.
Of course, she had taken a few liberties when she had chosen a 'home' for her hive. An actress who couldn't appear on stage was no actress at all. And while some of the vampires had been less-than-pleased with Ivy's choices, they knew better than to argue with their queen. Ivy's word was their law, and they would have to get used to having an eccentric queen.
Behind stage, everyone was busy getting ready for the night's show. Ivy wasn't starring in this production, though. With all of the new drones and vampires, she had to work more as a director this time around. Not everyone who had come back with her from Egypt was trained for the stage, so they needed a little extra help, which Ivy was all too happy to provide. "Next time," Ivy silently told herself, as she helped adjust the cravat on one of the many butlers that would be appearing onstage tonight, "Next time I will return to the stage, where I belong."
Ivy moved from actor to actor, doing final checks before the 8 pm curtain call. Fortunately, most people only needed slight adjustments here and there. If nothing else, these drones knew how to dress well. Their previous queen had at least instilled that good behavior in them, which Ivy approved of. The vampires, however…
Ivy sighed in discontent as she looked over to the five gentlemen standing in the far back, who happened to be the only ones not in costume. Even though she had insisted that they be a part of this, they had all refused. They didn't want to stray far from their queen, and since Ivy was going to be backstage for most of the play, they wanted to be there too. Ivy had to commend them for their loyalty and dedication to her safety, but she was still disappointed. They would have made the most adorable bunch of singing flowers! It didn't matter that their English was still rusty, they could at least stand there and be handsome.
"Ivy dear," a familiar voice called, and Ivy quickly whirled around to meet her absolutely wonderful husband. She could see that all-too familiar crop of red hair from a mile away, and she quickly became all smiles when she saw him approaching.
"Oh, there you are Tunny darling," Ivy said happily, though her lisp was showing again, "I was beginning to think you had gotten lost in the catacombs or something."
She leaned in to give him a quick peck on the cheek, which in turn made him smile and pull her in for a quick hug. "Don't worry, I wouldn't miss this for the world," he said.
As they let go, Ivy continued to hold onto Tunstell's hand, pulling him along as she walked through the throng of actors and actresses working around them. "Isn't it wonderful," she said, "Our big re-debut! It's been far too long, hasn't it?"
"Nearly a year," Tunstell said, and then he hesitated for a moment before speaking again, "Though, dear…are you sure you want to give the opening speech?"
Ivy was surprised by this. "Well, why wouldn't I," she asked, "I am the leader of this troupe, am I not? It is only proper for me to give a warm welcome to our patrons before they enjoy the show."
"I know, and you are absolutely right," Tunstell said quickly, "It's just…well, your lisp…"
Ivy stopped where she was, and she let go of Tunstell's hand. She was now frowning at him, and she sounded a bit sharper as she said, "What's wrong with it? I've been working very hard on it, and it sounds a lot better now!"
This was not a fight Tunstell wanted to get into, even if it was for the greater good of protecting Ivy's image. "Of course it has," Tunstell said gently, "I meant to say that it might be difficult to project your voice, what with the fangs and all."
It was a weak excuse, but Ivy seemed to buy into it. She bounced right back, going from frowns to smiles as easy as someone might flip a page in a book. "That won't be a problem," she said enthusiastically, "I've been practicing. The drones have been a big help, they have sat in seats all throughout the theater, and they can hear me just fine."
Of course, drones were usually the type to just agree with what a vampire queen said. All of them wanted a chance at immortality, and angering a queen was counter-productive. And on some level, Ivy did know this. She had heard whispers in the hallways, when she had been quietly working on a script in one of the back rooms. Even as a queen, people tended to forget she was there, or at least forget that she was observant enough to pick up on those whispers. But she figured the drones wouldn't lie about something as important as this, which was where her naivety in regards to the motivations of drones would be hurtful.
Tunstell wasn't about to correct her on that either, but for another reason entirely: happy wives make for happy marriages. "Of course," he said, "You're absolutely right."
Ivy beamed, but there wasn't much time for her to enjoy being right. One of the stage-hands approached her to let her know that it was two minutes to curtain, and she had to get herself ready as well. She gave Tunstell one last quick kiss, and then she turned to the stage, ready to walk on as soon as the curtains went up.
Many people had doubted Ivy's choice of a hive. It was too public, they had said. Vampires normally kept their homes a secret, open only to those few they could trust. The other vampires had insisted it was a bad idea to welcome the public into her home, that it was just inviting spies and assassins, but Ivy did not care. She was an actress first, and as an actress her place was on the stage. And if you couldn't bring the actress to the stage, then you just had to bring the stage to the actress.
The definition of a 'home' for the purposes of a hive was pretty loose anyway. Who was to say that Ivy couldn't make an entire theater into her hive?
