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Poppy wouldn't say they hated their hair at first.
Well, when they clawed their way out of the ground, they didn't know what they looked like. All they knew was to start moving. Over time the more they got used to walking, they noticed more sensations. The soft ground beneath their feet, the rough and ragged dirt covered coat against their skin.
The dirt packed long and curly hair covering their eyes.
After taking a proper shower for the first time, cleaning themself, they got to see what they looked like for the first time.
Poppy remembered staring at their reflection for almost an hour, looking at every feature that the community thought “wrong”.
Their hair, still damp, fell over their face in long, curled strands.
Long golden curls, shiny and fell over their torso all the way down to their waist. Poppy didn't know how to feel about how they looked. Their looks were what got them beaten down, so they can't imagine immediately liking themselves positively.
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Poppy took a while to find clothes they liked, for the first few days they just wore pants a bit too long for them and button ups supplied by the osc. They knew they wanted to wear more, but didn't want to ask for anything else.
Poppy noticed the other contestants' hair, some brightly coloured naturally. Just how they were made, poppy supposed. But they had noticed some contestants changed their hair frequently, poppy noticed how some of the contestants' hair was straight and sometimes spiky, the complete opposite of their hair,They wondered.
They wondered if they changed their appearance to look different, it would help.
Poppy didn't like the idea at first, they didn't want to change their appearance just to look more appealing, but at the same time, they hated getting stared at, constantly awkward small talk because the other person either didn't know what to say or didn't want to talk to them.
The first few days were grating, to say the least.
They wanted to stop, or at least minimise the treatment they got.
That's how Poppy ended up in their room's bathroom, a bottle of green dye clutched tightly to the point it might pop, and a dye brush in the other.
Poppy felt conflicted, this felt like it might help, or they would just look stupid. Maybe they were just getting too desperate at this point, actually thinking a bit of a hair change will fix everything.
They shook their head, and remembered the rough process of dying hair, put the dye in, wait a while, wash and dry. Seems easy.
They decided doing it in the bathtub would be less messy, so they climbed in the tub, shirt pajamas still worn, they'd have to clean these pajamas themselves after this.
Poppy popped the bottle open, squeezed some green dye on their hand, and paused, before grabbing a lock of their hair and scrubbing it in.
Poppy didn't know if what they were doing was correct, it was a fifty-fifty whether it would actually help with their look, or just make them look stupid. They were willing to take their chances.
They repeated this process for a while, the dye sticking onto their pajamas and face. It was a little uncomfortable considering their hands were covered in the dye too, so when they tried to clean themself,they just got more stained. They had thick hair. And a bunch of it. So they could feel a little uneasy thinking they'll run out of the dye, they only got one bottle.
But when they were finally done, getting up to look in the mirror was a little painful. They had sat in that tub, their back and legs felt cramped to no end. But looking at their reflection and turning their head a few times, they could see at that point, most of their hair under and out was covered in green dye. Feeling a little proud before remembering they probably had to keep it like this for a while so when they wash it, it doesn't wash away.
Poppy was exhausted at this point, lying down into the tub but still being mindful and moving their hair out of the way.
…
It'll get better. People will get used to them, warm up. All poppy has to do is be perfect for a few months and they will treat them normally. Mistakes caused by them felt harsh, like their resetting all their progress.
…
At least their not truly alone, metag was there for them. They had been since the first challenge. They had been since then, and still now. Poppy trusted and cared about them, truly. They were one of the only people who didn't turn their nose up at them.
In a few hours poppy was completely dissociated. Before they finally snapped out of it when a drop of water from the tap landed on their face.
They carefully got up, and looked back in the mirror. It was time that poppy ought to take a shower and wash their hair, and pray it turned out ok.
…
They got out of the bathroom, wearing a towel and quickly drying themself and putting on new pajamas, looking in the mirror, they had dried their hair to the best of their abilities but it was still damp, so poppy got their blow dryer and dried their hair off.
Their hair was more of a toned down green now. But still curly and large. Poppy felt like they could do much more to change their appearance.
Suddenly, an idea popped into their head.
…
Poppy had to do a quick theft for a hair straightener from pepper. (they'll give it back once their down, of course.)
They took locks of their hair, straightening it out. It felt strange, changing their appearance on a whim. But it was just hair at the end of the day. They could like the green.
Poppy finally finished, hair feeling warm. that used to be curly and gold, was now green and straight. Something must've went wrong because now their hair felt spikey at the ends. But they didn't mind.
Poppy took a few minutes to just stare. It certainly made them different. They took the hair band and tied their hair back, some hair spilling out over their eyes. They didn't bother fixing it.
Poppy heard the chatter of the others outside their door, they must've spent all night dying their hair, but they still went to bed early anyway, the challenge can wait.