forum Something Waits in the Woods // OxO or Small Group // Closed

Started September 15, 2021 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

"O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams."

Greenwood Academy has an excellent reputation. Teenagers are sent there to be instructed, with various focuses in different fields. Alchemy, engineering, art, mathematics, writing, and more. It is set in a rather remote area, with forests and mountains nearby. The closest city is 28 miles away. This is so that the students can focus, without the distraction of a city nearby. School sessions are longer too, starting in late July and, save for a few breaks and vacations, lasting until mid-May. It is rather small in comparison to other schools, with only about 350 students total.

This year, though, fear has begun to filter through the school. Students are disappearing, and there is no explanation as to where they've gone. They just vanish, and much of the time are never seen again. Sometimes a pocket watch is found, sometimes an earring, a necklace, a shoe. Never the student, alive or dead. Students have disappeared in the past, but never in these numbers, and never like this.

"When I looked around I saw none and heard of none like me. Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth?"

Therefore, when Bellamy Remington goes missing in early September, no one thinks it is any different from the other disappearances. Just another student gone missing, another hole in the student body. The tenth to go missing in just over two months. The shock comes when he reappears two months later, confused and terrified, with holes in his memory. He can't remember what happened. Or at least, he claims he can't. But he wakes up screaming at night from nightmares that leave him shaky and terrified, and there's something different about him. Some hauntedness in his gaze that he can't quite explain.

As more students begin to go missing, Bellamy's name comes up again and again; if anyone has the answers, he has to. A decides to get to the bottom of this, and as they investigate, they discover more and more things that leave them questioning themselves and, indeed, the entire school.

"The Woods are lovely, dark, and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep."

Anyways, this is an RP that could be either an OxO or 3 people, I don't really care which haha. I would be Bellamy, and you would be A (or B, if there are more than two people), who is investigating the disappearances because they feel the school isn't doing enough. ALSO! This is not modern-day. This is Dark Academia with a splash of Steampunk, because fuck yeah. So like, turn of the century, late 1800's vibes, understand? Could be romance, could just be friends? I don't have a large preference. I enjoy a good romance but I think friends could be good too, idk. If there's multiple people, we could do poly? Anyways

Rules:

• andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer)'s rules apply
• Smut, if or when it happens, will go to PMs
• This RP will likely involve some triggering themes, so please let me know if you have any triggers
• There will be blood and some potential gore. This is,,, pretty much nonnegotiable so if that's not your thing, please don't join
• Three sentences per reply, minimum, please
• I reserve the right to say no

((My dude, I've just been developing a dark academia character))

(Sksjsj hey Poof! Did you wanna join?)

(hey. I don't believe I've RPed with you before, could you provide a sample?)

(yeah :)

(yeah sure! Any triggers I should know about?)

((Nope, no triggers!))

(Here-)

Jasper woke up to her stomach grumbling at her, she sat up and leaned against the isle rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she yawned, before letting out a shiver and tucking her arms close. she looked around and realized that she wasn't in the building she had been in the past well years, and was surrounded by food…before it all came back to her, and she moved to get up from the ground, stabilizing herself against the stall. she moved to slowly walk down the aisle, and peek just above the counter at the windows that would have probably broken a long time ago from when they got here.
where was the man from earlier?…
she looked around once more, still not seeing anyone. she decided to look around for a drink, making her way back to where they held water bottles, in those big plastic holding cases. she moved to grab a water bottle out of the plastic holder thingy and struggled for a few seconds trying to get it open, before managing it open and chugging it, before ending up spitting it out because she drank it too fast. Which made her drink the rest of it slowly and carefully so she didn't spit it out this time, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve as she finished up setting the bottle down on the ground next to her and exhaling.

She could have ran forever. Through the rays of moonlight, over rocks and tree roots, the wind in her hair….it was all perfect. Edith had never felt more alive, despite the mimic of a pulse in her ears. Lilacs littered the ground all around her. Her trail. Back home? No, back to Cypress, her prison.

Not a prison, she thought with a wince. This was best for her. She needed to learn to control the beast she now shared a body with.

You're a monster!

The words echoed in her head, crashing about like panicked birds in a cage. She was nothing but a horrid creature that craved blood. This was best for her. This was safe for her. Being with Cypress meant that she wouldn't hurt anyone. She wouldn't hurt those she loved. Edith believed him when he said he could fix her. Or at least she tried to.

The mountain loomed before her, bathed in silvery moon light. She had never gone this far, the lilac trail had stopped and now….now she was going off on her own. Without guidance, without supervision. It was alluring as it was terrifying.

You'll be by yourself, you can't hurt anyone… we can’t hurt anyone

That thought sealed her decision, and shut up any other reservations she may have. Going beyond where she was allowed. Disobeying Cypress. It all fled her mind at the thought of solitude. Where she could be alone with her creature and perhaps…. Perhaps she could speak to it, perhaps she could find a balance.

-
Or it would kill her. It would end her and continue on in her body.

Either way she climbed, dread and excitement battling for dominance in the bit of her stomach. The jagged rock scraped and bruised her skin, but each mar was just a passing memory as the small nicks faded away. She almost did feel them as she lept from rock to rock and pulled herself up stoney walls.

She stopped when she was tired. When a thin sheen of sweat covered her body and her chest heaved for air. When even the moon had faded and there was nothing but stars… When she was too far to go back, not til the moon came back. Edith couldn’t understand the relief she felt as her icy gaze look down at the forest below her. She could die up here and no one would know. No one would care. She would be another monstrosity that was done away with.

This is best for us…. A voice cooed, thin and withering in her mind.

She recoiled from the comfort that eased over her. She needed to find a cave, something to save her, to shield her from the sun. With quick, deft steps, she pushed on and prodded in the darkness, hoping to find a safe space before daybreak. And she did.
A small cave mouth that opened into echoing darkness. She stepped inside without a second thought, unprepared for what she’d see inside.

Temp! It's very small but that's okay haha. Delete the things in parentheses when filling it out, please

Name:
Nicknames:
Age: (between like,,, 16 and 20, preferably)
Gender and Sexuality:
Year: (school has first year through sixth. First is comparable to Freshman year in highschool, and sixth would be comparable to sophomore in college) (generally, a 16 year old is in third year, and a 20 year old would likely be sixth)
Course of Study: (What they're focusing their studies on; engineering, inventing, alchemy, writing, etc. Remember, this is Dark Academia and Steampunk, so it could be a lot of things) (Can have two focuses; one "main" focus and one "side" focus)
Looks:
Other:

Name: Bellamy Marcus Remington
Nicknames: Bel
Age: 18
Gender and Sexuality: Male, pan
Year: Fifth
Course of Study: Writing, with a side focus in Inventing
Looks: Bel is 5'11", with a slim, lanky frame. He has long, slim fingers that are almost perpetually smeared with grease or ink. Or at least, they were, before he vanished. He has wavy, russet hair, which usually sticks up in unruly strands, as he almost never takes the time to tame it. He has grey eyes, which usually have shadows beneath them from exhaustion. He hasn't been sleeping well ever since he came back. Bel's skin is rather pale, without freckles or a tan, though prior to going missing he had freckles, leading some to theorize that he didn't see the sun for two months. That wherever he was, it must have been windowless or even underground. He usually wears long sleeves and long pants; this was his style pre-vanishing and still is post-vanishing. The difference is that now he wears them to cover up strange scars on his body, that weren't there previously. Those scars, no one knows about except him and some of the teachers. No other students know, because it would invite too many questions
Other: ~

Name: Madeline Caddel
Nicknames: Maddie, but only by very, very close friends. Will also answer to simply "Caddel"
Age: 18
Gender and Sexuality: Female, Bisexual
Year: Fifth
Course of Study: Literature, with a side focus in History
Looks: Madeline has wavey, black hair that falls to around her mid-back. Her eyes are a cold grayish-blue, set into a pale face with sharp features. She is quite small-around 5'1-and usually wears short heels to make herself a tiny bit taller. She sticks to practical skirts and neat blouses. She has one old frock coat that she first arrived to the school in-it comes out only when it's cold, is well worn and threadbare in spots, and she is very protective over it for unexplained reasons.
Other: Madeline can play piano, but it is merely a hobby she insists she isn't that good at.