Little Blackbird (Horror/Fantasy)

[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. You will need to have at least two characters - a citizen and a traveler. 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.
  
  I ask that you make a minimum of two characters - one citizen (can be a founding family member) and one traveler. However, you can have up to four.
  
  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 will post the character sheets should someone show interest.
  

  
  

 

[SilverPaw]

Oooh, this looks neat. I could go for shapeshifter or vampire. My first idea is a Whitmore who lost a sibling because they were unable to complete the hunt and still mourns them, and is determined to survive (while possibly questioning if they could be brought back too and if it'd be worth it). Would have to think on the traveler concept though.

 

[Dusk]

You have my interest. This sounds super. Unfortunately, I have many roleplays so I'm not prepared to make a commitment yet. However, I'll watch the thread and see if I have the time.

 

[MissyMay]

Oooh, this looks neat. I could go for shapeshifter or vampire. My first idea is a Whitmore who lost a sibling because they were unable to complete the hunt and still mourns them, and is determined to survive (while possibly questioning if they could be brought back too and if it'd be worth it). Would have to think on the traveler concept though.

That sounds like a great idea! The creature - whom is called Decay - that brought Maybelle back still watches over the Whitmore's so your character can absolutely explore that route.

 

[MissyMay]

You have my interest. This sounds super. Unfortunately, I have many roleplays so I'm not prepared to make a commitment yet. However, I'll watch the thread and see if I have the time.

Thank you! I plan to have always open sign ups so there's no rush if you want to join.

 

[fauxklimt]

I'd be highly interested in this! Excited to see more lore around the three families.

 

[MissyMay]

I'm going to go ahead and create a sign up & ooc thread so y'all can get a better look at the lore and make characters. Hopefully, I'll get that done today or tomorrow.

 

[StarlightStarbright]

Color me intrigued by this premise! I've been meaning to get back into the swing of things here in Iwaku by joining a new Group Roleplay! I would love to be a part of this!

I do have a question. You've stated that most within Arkley are not humans, so does that mean that we can create non-human citizens? Or can only founding family characters be non-humans? If we can make citizen non-humans, what limits are imposed when creating such a character?

 

[MissyMay]

Color me intrigued by this premise! I've been meaning to get back into the swing of things here in Iwaku by joining a new Group Roleplay! I would love to be a part of this!

I do have a question. You've stated that most within Arkley are not humans, so does that mean that we can create non-human citizens? Or can only founding family characters be non-humans? If we can make citizen non-humans, what limits are imposed when creating such a character?

Yes, you can create non-human citizens. In fact, I encourage it. As for the limits, I have a list of creatures you can make your character in the google doc, but you can also make your own species. If you want to do that, then we can discuss options. As for any power/ability limits, I don't have very many so long as the character can somewhat fit into the setting. If you can explain it in a reasonable way, then you can probably make it. My only hard no is overpowered characters, YA novel version of creatures (for example, Twilight vampires) as we're going for more of a darker theme here, and modern items (phones, t-shirts, etc.). Oh, and sirens, but only for lore reasons as they're extinct except for the Mulvahil's.

Hopefully, that helped!

Here's the link to the OOC thread which should explain everything in greater detail!

 

[The Lotus Archives]

Is this still open for people's to join? It sounds interesting and I'd like to join.