"I suppose you could say that I speak for the trees."
Magnolia Jean Settle
Nickname:
Maggie, Lorax (Mockingly)
Age:
17
Sexuality:
Sapiosexual
Clique:
Fourth- Bottom of the Social Ladder
Likes:
Gardening || Communicating with plants || Gymnastics || Orchestral Music || Quiet || Libraries || Old Things || Abandoned Places || Vintage Styles || Security || Trees || Sunshowers || Cursive Handwriting || Flats || Small Apartments || Spare Time || Botany || Sketching || Hot Tea || Gummy Worms || Traveling || High Grades || Mathematics || Recycling Programs || Dr. Seuss || Basketball || Cats
Dislikes:
Littering || Needless Waste || Arrogance || Caste Systems || Being Looked Down On || Large Houses || Meat || Cruelty || Dairy Products || Watching TV || Plotless Movies || Fire || Frogs || Politics || English Classes || French Accents || Violence || Carelessness || Looseness || Feeling Flustered || Ignorance || Debts || Blatant Lies || Clean Freaks || Feeling Useless || Rap Music || Cigarette Smoke || Soccer || Romance Novels || Paper
Maggie's ability is not the sort of thing that would be considered impressive by most- as perhaps seen by the fact that it has left her at the bottom of her high school's social ladder. That being said, she refuses to allow the fact that others may look down on her gift influence her own opinion of it. Maggie is capable of communicating telepathically with plants, something which would, in any other town, lead people to believe that she suffered from some sort of mental disorder causing her to project personalities onto plants. But for Magnolia, plants are just like people- they can feel and communicate, and are far more ancient than any human. This is really the extent of her abilities- being able to speak, or communicate, with plants. However, it does mean that she knows more than others might think- the trees have ears, after all, and get along very well with the girl who bothers to listen to them.
Weakness:
As Maggie's ability is a rather minor one, there aren't many weaknesses to be paired with it- it isn't the sort of thing to drain her of energy or anything like that, because talking to plants is as simple as speaking to a person for the girl. Because she is the only one in town who speaks to plants -the rest of her family actually have animal-based abilities- they tend to be a bit overly talkative with her, and can distract Maggie with requests that she get the dog to stop peeing on them, or save them from being chopped down. Which does bring up the fact that her realization that plants are sentient beings does make it a lot harder for her to be okay with using paper and such- it's like writing on a person's skin. Also, she cannot communicate with grass- of course, this may be due to her blocking out the ability to make walking on grass easier.
Strengths:
>Maggie has been enrolled in gymnastics courses ever since she was little, and therefore is rather gifted in that field- including the upper body strength and flexibility required.
>Some people may find it surprising, but Magnolia is actually rather good at basketball- her elder brothers taught her to play.
>It is simply a given that Maggie is good with the identification of plants- she communicates with them regularly, afterwards.
>With a mind that simply processes mathematics well, Magnolia is the sort to do calculus problems for relaxation.
Flaws:
<Maggie is terrible with any sport involving kicking- she's more of a hand-eye kind of girl.
<Because of the nature of her gift, Magnolia is oversensitive about the treatment of plants and such- seeing a tree cut will make her physically ill, and flower shops are like morgues to the girl.
<Maggie is far from a gifted writer. It isn't that her grammar or spelling is flawed- she just can't express herself well in print, and thus everything she writes appears halfhearted and shallow. She can never find the correct words.
<Magnolia has difficulty saying no to people, and therefore often finds herself taking on altogether too much work, stretching herself very thin indeed.
Fears:
Fire || Destruction of the World's Resources || Frogs || Disappointing her Parents
Hobbies:
Gymnastics || Gardening || Reading || Mathematics
Maggie grew up preferring the company of plants to humans, and thus has come to be a relatively quiet individual, perhaps because her communication with plants has always been telepathic, and thus verbal skills were not completely necessary for the young girl. She has come to be able to communicate with other students, of course, but continues to be a rather reserved individual who would rather be by herself in a garden than in a laughing group full of people. She tends to fly just a bit under the radar because of this reserved nature, but is still known indirectly through her elder brothers, who were popular individuals in town before they both moved away in order to attend college on the other side of the nation. She doesn't appear to have any problems with being virtually unknown, even going so far as to pity the top students for the amount of pressure put upon them to remain on top. Maggie certainly isn't the girl that one finds at weekend parties or football games unless she has been dragged along, feeling much more at ease when she is by herself. This isn't to say that she is completely against the idea of being with friends or anything like that- she still enjoys such experiences as much as the next person. It's just that she is never truly alone, when surrounded by plants, and prefers the freedom that she is allowed when not surrounded by other people. The girl can go days hardly saying a word without even realizing it, in fact, because she is far from talkative. It isn't that the young woman is shy, simply more comfortable with silence than loud noises and chatting.
However, when Maggie does speak, it is usually something that has actual thought put into it- unless angry, she isn't the sort to speak without considering her words carefully first, and therefore she is rarely to be caught saying something that she would consider stupid, though what others think foolish is another thing entirely. She is, in general, a contemplative individual, the sort who puts serious consideration into everything that she says and does, because she doesn't want to make a fool of herself through carelessness. This does run the risk of her spending too much time weighing the possibilities and not enough time acting- allowing the situation to slip past her fingers. It's not uncommon for her to spend so much time thinking about what others have said that by the time she has formed a solid opinion, the subject has moved on. She does not take judgments lightly, after all, but can be left behind in her almost excessive contemplation of things. Of course, she is not perfect in this thoughtfulness, and when angry, can be prone to speaking based on emotion, her words simultaneously sharp and blunt. Anger is difficult to inspire in the young woman, fortunately, but she can be prone to holding grudges when someone does cross some sort of line with her. However, she is the sort to get angry, not even, and thus many do not really view her as a threat- something that she is conflicted about, honestly.
While she may not be overly social, Maggie is a rather sweet young woman, the sort who feels obliged to help those in need, even if she dislikes them very much. This has been taken advantage of on occasion, people asking favors of her and the young woman being unable to refuse, the tasks gradually building up until she has far too much work on her hands and not enough time to do any of it at all. It doesn't help that the trees and flowers and such are often pestering her to prune certain places, chase away the dog that's been peeing on them, etc. With both humans and plants asking favors of her, it's no wonder that she can stretch herself too thin- or that she appreciates flying beneath the radar. Even outside of favors, she has the tendency to do little things for others, regardless of whether they have been asked for- potted daisies for those who have seemed sad lately, or little notes to encourage the downtrodden. She prefers to go unknown in these little gestures, not doing well with thanks or anything like that. Even in regards to compliments, she is not very good with accepting them, often blushing and waving it away. This is not due to a low self esteem, though- in fact, Magnolia has always seem relatively content with her station and herself, though it doesn't really qualify as confidence so much as satisfaction. She sees no reason to worry about what she doesn't have, but because of this may lack ambition, because she is content enough to not be highly motivated. Because she has come to terms with her life, she seems to have this air of ease around her, except for when angered or stressed. Of course, if she hadn't simply resigned herself to accepting things the way they are, she likely would have even more extreme reactions to things that she views as atrocities- the cutting down of trees, cutting of flowers, etc.
Though she isn't particularly ambitious, Maggie is a determined sort of person, who will not stop a task that she has begun until it is finished. She dislikes things that have been left half done, and resolves to not contribute to the problem by not finishing her own projects. If she says that she will do something, or starts something, then the girl is going to get it done to the best of her abilities- there is no question about that. When her mind is set to something, Magnolia can be extraordinarily stubborn about it, and she puts enough thought into everything she does to be very stubborn about changing those thoughts or decisions. It can be difficult to make her budge once she has decided something, even when plenty of reasoning is presented. Just as she is determined in her actions, the girl is stubborn in her loyalty as well, and once she has placed her trust in a person, removing it can be nearly impossible unless they commit some very severe crime in her eyes. She's the sort of friend who will stand by a person to the very end, trusting them even when the evidence is stacking against them. The few friendships she has are devoted ones, and while it is difficult to earn her trust, it is an even greater task to lose it.
Reserved || Contemplative || Cautious || Sweet || Determined || Devoted || Sensitive || Content || Blunt When Angered || Stubborn
Magnolia's parents both have very nature-based abilities, something which likely brought the two of them together. While her mother could communicate with animals telepathically, her father could control, but not speak to, plants. Thus, it was only natural for their children to also have supernatural abilities that were very nature-centric. The three Settle children followed this expectation- Maggie's twin elder brothers, Rowan and River, both had the same ability, which was being able to absorb certain capabilities and traits of animals. Rowan and River could run like Cheetahs, jump like kangaroos, and have the strength of ants- they were any athletic coach's wet dream, really.
Magnolia, born when her brothers were three years of age, had an ability that was slightly less applicable to athletics, one that was not obvious until she was around four years old and began speaking to trees- making it very obvious what her abilities were. Unfortunately, she seemed to prefer the company of the trees and flowers to that of her fellow children, and thus much of her earlier childhood was spent either with family or in gardens and forests. She was not unhappy with this, of course, but her parents did have concerns that she would never interact properly with other children. As an attempt to remedy this, they enrolled the girl in gymnastics when she was seven years old- this did help somewhat in allowing her to learn how to speak to people, but she continued to be a rather introverted child.
Now, Maggie's life is a rather average one, if the little detail of supernatural abilities is ignored. Older brothers who tease but are protective, loving parents, extracurriculars, etc. Of course, her ability does have the downside of meaning that she can practically hear screaming every time someone clips a rose from a bush, and that she views flower shops and bouquets as a bit sickening. She has a vastly different view on things because of her abilities, and this can cause her to seem a bit different than others in her priorities and patterns- the girl is repulsed by things like paper or pencils, instead dealing only with technology, a far less concerning option for the girl. She has faced difficulty in adjusting to the fact that plants are used in all sorts of things, and though she gradually came to terms with it as she aged, it can still be a bit of a sore spot. As if to make up for any necessary use of wood or paper, she has always been a bit of pushover in regards to plants, though she does love to garden and such, and sees it as not too big of a problem to help out occasionally.
As she grew, Maggie continued gymnastics and became very good, it being a way for her to build up strength, flexibility, etc. While she is gifted in that, however, she found herself a bit less naturally inclined towards social relationships, even as she grew older and advanced in grades. In school, she is considered bottom of the social chain because her power is not particularly strong, at least offensively, but this is simply another thing she has come to terms with- it allows her more peace, at least, even if she dislikes the fact that people use their powers for such reasons as to benefit themselves rank wise- something she sees as a terrible waste. Of course, she may be biased based on the fact that her brothers had been far higher on the ranking than she is, given they more offensive abilities, and thus she is left in their shadow as far as social status goes. All the same, she only goes to the After School Club to watch and to, as her parents say, 'participate.' She's never sure what keeps her going back, even though she's not one of the rebels, but she goes all the same- her weekly dosage of normality, perhaps- normal for this town, anyway.
