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[MissyMay]

Little Blackbird

This is a dark gothic fantasy story based in the town of Arkley known and yet not for its odd citizens and mysterious past. The town was founded around four hundred years ago by three families - The Whitmores, the Flemings, and the Mulvahils. Each family is known for their own special brand of peculiarity - The Whitmores like outsiders a bit too much, the Flemings seem to flinch at the sight of the sun, and the Mulvahils are far too obsessed with bodies of water. The truth of the matter is that they are not human - never have been, really. Then again, few in this little town are humans and those that are were practically cast out from normal society for one reason or another.

This town of otherworldly creatures and odd little humans rarely sees travelers or tourists save for once a year. At the tail end of the autumn season, Arkley hosts a grand festival open to any and all called the Festival of Spirits. It is a magnificent three day event to honor the founding families and all those who have passed on. There is music, performances, costumes, and contests! And at the end of it all: The Whitmore Masquerade; where at the end, guests of honor are asked to bring the festival to a close by taking a candle to Maybelle's Grove and honoring the first person to die in Arkley. Most never notice the ghostly blackbird that watches them as they traverse the forest. They never notice their hosts slipping away into the shadows. And they never notice when a young girl cries in mourning. Most never make it past the first hour of the hunt.

You see, long ago a young girl named Maybelle died. Her father couldn't let her death go and made a deal with something even monsters considered abnormal. It brought her back in the form of a phantom, doomed to forever haunt the forest she died in. Its price for this boon? The man's family would forever be beholden to it. Every year on the night she died, all members of the Whitmore family past the age of sixteen must complete a sacrifice or the creature would take their souls away.

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• The Basics

  Character Info
  
  
  I'm fairly new to this site, but not new to running these types of groups. In fact, this is an overhaul of one of my first ever groups and actually one I had plans to turn into a book, but dropped before writing. I have a lot of information about this world and a general plot for us all to follow, but I have plans to change things around based on the characters you create and the actions they take. I would like this role play to help you explore more into your characters in a dark fantasy setting. There is going to be violence, gore, death, and so much tragedy that this will probably be incredibly edgy.
  
  The rules are the same general ones you'd find everywhere - No godmodding of any kind, no perfect characters, follow the site rules, and don't bully or harass people ooc. As for posting, I would like at least two paragraphs for each post and one post every two weeks at the least. A member of a founding family counts as a citizen. However, you can have up to four characters currently.
  
  The story is loosely planned to follow the idea of your characters, the travelers and the citizens, getting to know each other over the course of the festival. The travelers will realize that people are hiding something, but can't quite figure out what. Each traveler character will enter a raffle where a few will be selected to take the walk to Maybelle's Grove where they will be hunted by the characters of the Whitmore family. From there, they will work to get out of the forest while the others are told what is happening and try to get in to help. The citizens will either work to stop them or help them. Or, at least, that's the general idea.
  
  This is a dark victorian/gothic-esque fantasy setting...which was kinda based off Bloodbourne. This means that things will get dark and dreary. Know this before deciding - there is no happy ending and someone will lose. So, if you want what I'm hoping will be an emotional ride full of future emotional damage for your characters, look no further.
  
  
• The Basics

  Character Info
  
  
  There are many playable roles and there should be enough founding family members for everyone to have one. The founding families all play a rather vital role and are all in on the hunt, though the Whitmores are the only ones to actively participate in it. The three families are very much designed to be morally gray or downright evil in some cases, but I encourage you to forge your own path for your character. There are NPCs that can still push the plot where it needs to go.
  
  Oh! Before I forget, your characters can also be supernatural creatures. I even have a list ready to go as I would like them to follow a less modernized version of the creatures. You are, of course, free to add to the list. Just give me the rundown of your idea and we'll see about getting the creature to fit into the world.
  
  You can have up to four characters. I will make npc's if we do not have enough people to enter the forest.
  
  The Founding Families:
  There are three families that built Arkley - The Whitmores, the Flemings, and the Mulvahils. Each family has their own dark history and their own curse to bear. The Whitmores are beholden to a creature called Decay that turned them into shapeshifters. There will be four roles available for this family. The Flemings are cursed with vampirism that any who join the family is infected with as it is bound not to their blood, but to their name. There will be two roles available for this family. The Mulvahils are the descendants of the last true siren making them an endangered species. There will be two roles available for this family.
  
  The Travelers:
  There are people born outside of Arkley who have traveled here for one reason or another. There is no limit on this role.
  
  The Citizens:
  These are people who were born in Arkley or came here and decided to stay. They know or suspect the truth of this festival. Some might even be in on it - this is a rather tight knit town, afterall. There is no limit on this role.
  
  

  
  

I have the lore, species, and magic systems all written out. I am working on putting it all together into something that actually looks nice. Below is the link to the google docs which has everything you need to know. I will also link the other threads here when they are up.

The Anthology of Arkley​

Interest Check

IC

Discord

Song Playlists:​

Story Inspiration Playlist

Main Character Playlist

NPC Playlist

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All Character Roles

Below is a list of all roles and the characters filling those roles. Feel free to reserve any spots!

The Whitmore Family
Myron Whitmore | Son of Waverly Whitmore (@MissyMay)
Amarantha Withmore | Daughter of Minerva Whitmore & Forrest Monaghan (@SilverPaw)
Armand Whitmore | Son of Ambrose Whitmore & Anais Bouchard (@Bahiyya)
Majna Whitmore | Child of Serena Whitmore(@StarlightStarbright)
Horace Whitmore | Child of Waverly Whitmore (@The Lotus Archives)

The Fleming Family
Nikolas Fleming | Son of Sydney & Theresa Fleming (@cry)
Rivka Fleming | Daughter of Claude & Neil Fleming (@cowboyclown)

The Mulvahil Family
Gladiolus Mulvahil | Daughter of Lacey & Edgar Mulvahil (@Ai-in Ayan)
Nerina Mulvahil | Daughter of Lucia & Carmela Mulvahil (@Princess Rose)

Travelers
Felix Fletcher | Merchant Thief (@MissyMay)
Laverne Wycliffe | Journalist's Apprentice (@MissyMay)
Penelope Albrecht | Novelist (@cry)
Jamil De Bosque | Performer/Drag Queen (@StarlightStarbright)
Mizuko Ryu | Traveling Noble (@The Lotus Archives)
Onne | Guardian (@The Lotus Archives)
Olenn Jordenson | Stable Keeper (@Luther)

Citizens
Mina Delagney | Constable (@MissyMay)
Hyacinth Adventurine | Butler/Bodyguard (@Ai-in Ayan)
Amir Bijan | Owner of the Achaemenes (@The Lotus Archives)
Oleander Valcourt | School Teacher (@cry)
Baron Grady | Surgeon (@Luther)

Character Info & Sheets

You are open to make whatever type of character your wish so long as they at least loosely fit into the setting and can explain why they are the way they are. You can make a time traveler, you can make a woman literally haunted by the ghosts of her past, you can make a sarcastic man cursed to be a hairless cat. You can even make the mortal reincarnation of one of this worlds gods... though I do ask that you request something like that first. The only limit is your imagination and the world setting. If you want to add or make up a new species, please ask me and we can create some info for it. I also changed the rule so that you only have to make one character if you want to, but four is your maximum limit as of right now. My only ask is that you avoid making overpowered characters without reason or weakness.

I'm not particular about how you set up your character sheets. I only really care about a name, age, story role (traveler, citizen, founding family), a detailed backstory and the answer to the three questions. I would prefer semi-realistic art, realistic art, or real people as face claims. Below is a basic character sheet you can use.

Feel free to ask me any questions. I'll answer asap.

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Species:
Sexuality:
Occupation:
Role:
Personality:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Backstory:
If your character is a traveler, would you be okay with them entering the forest after the festival?

If your character is a citizen, do they know the truth of the festival and how do they feel about that?

If your character is a member of a founding family, would they attempt to help or hinder the travelers?

@SilverPaw @fauxklimt @Dusk
Just in case you guys are still interested or want a look at the lore (google docs) before committing,
I also changed the rule on the character limit so you only have to make one, but can still make up to four.​

 

[QuietSuburbs]

Hello there! Mind if I join in the little party? It seems really interesting and I think it'd be pretty neat to experience.

 

[MissyMay]

Hello there! Mind if I join in the little party? It seems really interesting and I think it'd be pretty neat to experience.

Sure, you're welcome to join! Just post your characters here whenever you make them and I'll see about accepting them.

 

[Luther]

Ope! Sorry about that! I added a little blurb for the species as well as some weaknesses/strengths. If you have any other ideas or changes I need to make, I'll sure look into it!

Also, sorry to bug, but I can't get to the Discord server. It keeps saying the discord invite is invalid or something lol

 

[MissyMay]

Ope! Sorry about that! I added a little blurb for the species as well as some weaknesses/strengths. If you have any other ideas or changes I need to make, I'll sure look into it!

Also, sorry to bug, but I can't get to the Discord server. It keeps saying the discord invite is invalid or something lol

Looks good! Here, try this one. I thought I set it to never expire, but I must not have.

 

[Luther]

Ope! Sorry about that! I added a little blurb for the species as well as some weaknesses/strengths. If you have any other ideas or changes I need to make, I'll sure look into it!

Also, sorry to bug, but I can't get to the Discord server. It keeps saying the discord invite is invalid or something lol

Looks good! Here, try this one. I thought I set it to never expire, but I must not have.

Ack, still not working. Don't worry too hard about it, I'm not so good at remembering discord anyways.

 

[MissyMay]

Ope! Sorry about that! I added a little blurb for the species as well as some weaknesses/strengths. If you have any other ideas or changes I need to make, I'll sure look into it!

Also, sorry to bug, but I can't get to the Discord server. It keeps saying the discord invite is invalid or something lol

Looks good! Here, try this one. I thought I set it to never expire, but I must not have.

Ack, still not working. Don't worry too hard about it, I'm not so good at remembering discord anyways.

Alrighty, if you ever want to try again, I'll send you the link :)

The IC is open whenever you're ready to start. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!