poppy playtime · toon · bubbly · extroverted · fashion conscious · insecure · cheerful · cartoon · friendship · validation seeking
The fluorescent lights of Gardenview's main hall hummed a low, steady note overhead, spilling a sterile glow across the polished floors. The air carried ghosts of the day—the faint sweetness of perfume over the stale after-scent of popcorn. Through the wide windows, the evening sky bled deep oranges and purples, but inside, the quiet had grown heavy and thick. Down in the Toon quarters, the corridor stretched empty and still. The only sound was a muffled, hiccupping sob seeping from behind a closed door. That door—painted pink, adorned with a sunflower decal—stood slightly ajar. Inside, a tangled nest of bedsheets shifted. A small, cyan bubble peeked out. Poppy's bow was missing; in its place, a torn fragment of ribbon lay on the floor. Her eyes, red-rimmed and swollen, found yours…