Ashbourne

Ashbourne —

introduction

Listen. You don't know me, but my name is Jackie Rhodes. I live in a backwater town called Ashbourne in upstate Ohio --where cows outnumber people and bars outnumber high school graduates. Over half of the adults here are constantly drunk, and the "good" and bad sides of town are separated by a one-lane gravel road. It's not ideal, no, but at least the crime rate is... low enough. So, y'know... yay.

All depressing statistics aside, there's something... wrong with Ashbourne. I'm not referring to the immorality of the townsfolk, but something out in the woods --something in the dark at night. Listen, I'm not superstitious or anything; I don't believe in what I can't see. But after Casey... I just don't know.

Casey... Casey Hudson was my best friend in high school. If he was caught making trouble, you could bet that I was an accomplice in some way. Ever since sophomore year, we planned to leave Ashbourne when we were done with high school; we were going to road trip from coast to coast and leave this nowhere town behind us. For good.

But that never happened. The night after graduation, I waited for Casey to come pick me up and start our new lives elsewhere... but he never showed up. And when morning came, I learned that nobody had seen him since he'd left the graduation ceremony. Not my other friends, not his parents -- no one. A week went by, and there was still no sign of Casey. A missing person's report was finally filed --by me, not his thoughtless parents-- and the teeny-tiny Ashbourne police department spent the next couple of months searching for him. When they inevitably gave up, I kept going; I spent an entire year scouring every inch of this crooked town for my best friend.

It's been three years now, and I still haven't found him. The case was officially declared cold by the police last March; instead of "missing," he's now legally classified as "dead." My other friends have tried to convince me that Casey wanted to leave town so badly that he just left me behind. But they didn't know Casey the way I did. Something must've happened, 'cause there's no way he would've left without me.

Remember when I said I didn't believe in the supernatural? I still stand by that. It's just... there's something off about Casey's disappearance. His car was still at his house; his wallet and license were in the glovebox; his belongings were all still in his room, suspended in the process of being packed. So... what? Did he just stop packing and walk out of Ashbourne? With nothing? No!

It looked like he had vanished while getting ready to leave, and... I think someone took him.

Or... maybe something. I don't know. I keep this to myself 'cause it's absolutely insane, but... there was a scratch on Casey's window sill. Not like a normal scratch made by opening the window, though. It was three long, jagged cuts engraved into the wood; this was a deep groove, made by claws. Massive claws --the mark left dwarfed a bear's in comparison. No known creature in existence could have left that mark. The police ignored it, though, but I can't forget it. Casey's still missing, and that mark is my best lead. It's my only lead.

Tonight is the anniversary of our graduation. Tonight, I will investigate. When the sun goes down, I'll go out to Casey's old house and... see if anything happens. It's a long shot, and I don't know what I'm expecting to see. I'm just tired of the same dead ends, the useless leads, the cold trails. I'm... I'm desperate. I just want my best friend back... or to at least know what happened to him.

Maybe I can convince my friends to come along...

summary

You are a member of Jackie's tight-knit circle of friends, and you're convinced Casey just skipped town without saying goodbye. Watching Jack still searching for his old high school buddy is, quite honestly, a sad sight, but you haven't stopped him yet. You didn't really know Casey all that well; maybe there's a chance he didn't just up and leave. Therefore, you would never stop Jackie from looking for his missing friend. However, whether or not you would investigate with Jack is an entirely different matter...

Over the past three years, the friendships between you, Jackie, and the others have blossomed in the absence of Casey. You are all great friends --if not best friends-- at this point. You consider Jack's house a second home.

You all attended the same high school, and you all knew each other back then. Maybe not well at the time, but you were --at the very least-- aware of the others' existences. That's how you "knew" Casey.

[It's currently late May; the weather is that of late spring or early summer. The world that Ashbourne is in is similar to ours; the year that the characters are in is roughly our current year. Very few things will be different.]

key locations in Ashbourne

• Alfie's: A rundown diner that had its glory days somewhere in the late 80's --now a popular hangout for Jackie and his friends. The milkshakes are to die for. Creamy, smooth, rich -- they are quite easily the best milkshakes in the world. The greasy food, however, is not recommended for human consumption. The manager is Alfred. This is where Evelyn works.

• Briksby Hotel: The oldest building in Ashbourne, made of stone and mortar. It's rumored to have been built from the stones of a fallen castle that were brought from overseas. Take that rumor with a grain of salt, however --the owner, eighty-nine year old Mr. Graey, is a known liar. Evolet works here.

• Stoneline Cemetery: The only graveyard in town, and the second oldest location in Ashbourne --beaten by just a few years by Briksby Hotel. The groundskeeper, Mr. Everett, hasn't been in the public eye for years, yet the graveyard is always well-maintained. The oldest headstones are beginning to crumble from age and weathering, though. It's rare to find flowers on the premises; flowers left on graves disappear the next day, but Mr. Everett has never been witnessed removing them.

• Brimstone Mine: An abandoned mineshaft that was decommissioned and condemned decades ago, named after burning sulfur because of the smell coming from inside the cavern. People aren't allowed to walk more than twenty feet into the main tunnel for fear of the support beams finally collapsing.

• Grimm Records: A struggling music shop that sells vinyls, CDs, and an assortment of instruments, including drum sets, acoustic and electric guitars, and more. This is where Jackie works.

• Fabric Fiend: A little ma-and-pa craft store that somehow manages to stay afloat, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Franklin. Nobody knows how old the Franklins are, and with almost no customers, no one knows how they turn a profit... but they do.

• Ashbourne High: Home of the Ashbourne Tigers --the high school that Jackie and his friends graduated from. However, the graduating classes have been diminishing in size over the past few years. With the lack of kids in Ashbourne, it's suspected that the school will close within the next decade, and students will have to go out of town for schooling.

• Ashbourne Police Department: The little rinky-dink police department that barely knows how to protect the town. Only about ten people work there, and Sheriff Riley is quite the secretive type... Daniel is a trainee here.

• Twisted Rose: The only tattoo parlor in town. Actual good artists here. It's a shame they ended up in a town like Ashbourne.

• Split Happens: A bowling alley that smells of cigarettes and beer. There's an arcade area inside, complete with old goodies like Dig Dug, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and many more. There's also a concessions stand that sells (probably not expired) food.

• Applewood Tavern: Probably the cleanest, highest quality bar in town. "Highest quality" because it sells alcohol that, to a degree, actually tastes somewhat decent. They also keep their bathrooms relatively clean, which is rad.

characters

Jackie Todd Rhodes

- played by Anti

- alive

Evelyn Mercer

- played by Casandra-Brando

- alive

Brandish Bliss

- played by Sanctuaryforall1

- alive

Evolet Arista

- played by Clockworkstar~

- alive

Daniel Wolfe

- played by Wolfiee

- alive

side characters/townsfolk

Casey Daniel Hudson: Jackie's best friend who went missing the night of their high school graduation. Status is unknown; presumed dead by police.

Alfred "Alfie" Richardson: The owner and manager of Alfie's. He's an extroverted man in his early sixties who isn't very perceptive. He's the only adult Jackie and his friends would consider an ally. Alive.

rules

GENERAL

• Be kind, guys. No fighting in OOC chat. If you feel like you were slighted in some way, talk to me about it. Fighting among characters is fine.

• Keep it PG to PG-13.

• Avoid swearing, if possible. If you do, use stars, like h*ll.

• Please stay active. Inactivity that runs for over two weeks is punishable by the reopening of your spot on the thread.

• No sexual content can be posted --you must fade out if anything of that nature happens to comply with FF rules. There can [and will] be references to alcohol and drug use, though.

• Three or more sentences per post, pretty please.

• Being grammatically correct would be fantastic.

• If you read the name Luke anywhere, I meant Jack.

• No new RPers may join; there was a limited amount of spots, and they were all taken.

CHARACTER CREATION

• Your character is 100% human. No mythical creatures, special powers, or anything of the like.

• No friend of Jack's is a murderer. None of them will secretly be a murderer. I feel like I shouldn't have to say this, but you never know.

• Characters are between the ages of 18 and 24.

• Use a real human photo for appearance. No exceptions.

• To reiterate, your character is a HUMAN. With human emotions, feelings, and reactions. If a human can't do it, they can't do it. Simple.

• The character limit is ONE, until further notice.

ROLEPLAYING

• No god-modding. Your character will get hurt sometimes and will not always land their attacks.

• Broken bones don't just heal in an hour. An injury will stay and continue to affect your character for a reasonable amount of time passing in the RP.

• When your character fights another, the person being fought has the ability to decide if they were hit or not. Keep the first rule of roleplaying in mind, though.

• Thank you for reading the rules.

character form