Skyline

Welcome to Havenwood

Its almost at the 7 day mark so get your posts in if you haven't yet posted.

Welcome to Havenwood

Lindsay River

Character Sheet

Name: Lindsay River
Age: 31
Occupation: Investigative Journalist

Appearance:
Lindsay has an almost angular look to her face, with sharp cheekbones and a defined jawline that give her an air of intensity. Her brown hair is kept in a messy, shoulder-length bob, often tucked behind her ears to keep it out of her face while she’s working. Her eyes are a striking pale blue, constantly scanning her environment with an air of suspicion. She dresses in simple, functional clothing—dark jeans, a fitted shirt, and a jacket that’s often worn out at the cuffs. She wears minimal makeup, just enough to keep a professional look. Her hands are calloused from constant writing and typing, and she carries a camera with her everywhere—always ready to capture anything unusual.

Personality:
Lindsay is determined, fiercely independent, and relentlessly driven. She's a skeptic to her core, constantly questioning what others tell her, and unwilling to take things at face value. Her sharp intellect is both her greatest strength and her Achilles' heel; it often isolates her, as she has trouble relating to people who don't share her analytical mindset. Though she hides it well, Lindsay struggles with a deep-seated fear of being vulnerable or making mistakes, which can manifest as irritability or even coldness toward others. She's incredibly resourceful, and while she doesn't trust easily, she would fight tooth and nail to protect those few she allows close. Beneath her tough exterior, there's a deep-seated empathy, though she rarely lets it show.

Background:
Lindsay grew up in a small, somewhat neglected home with her father and younger brother. Her parents divorced when she was young, and her mother, who left, has been absent from her life ever since. She left for college at 18, determined to escape the town's stifling atmosphere and make a name for herself. Over the years, Lindsay’s investigative reporting led her to cover high-profile cases—corruption, injustice, and cover-ups—making her both respected and feared in her field. After years of working in the city, Lindsay returned to Havenwood in search of something more elusive: the truth behind a series of mysterious events that have always haunted her hometown. She hasn’t been able to shake the unsettling feeling that something darker lies hidden beneath the town’s idyllic surface. Her father still lives in Havenwood, but their relationship is strained—he’s a quiet man, preferring to stay out of her way, and their talks are rare and often tense.

The Touch:
Lindsay’s connection to the paranormal manifests in recurring episodes of déjà vu and unexplained feelings of being watched. She sometimes feels as if certain places in Havenwood “recognize” her, like she’s stepping into something that knows her name even if she doesn’t know it yet. Occasionally, she’ll hear whispers when she’s alone, but it’s never clear where they come from. There’s a particular old house near the edge of town that seems to trigger these sensations more than any other place, drawing her back to it time and again, even though it’s been abandoned for years. Lindsay is also plagued by nightmares that sometimes seem to predict events, though she has yet to fully understand what they mean or why they occur.

Weaknesses:
Lindsay's greatest flaw is her tendency to push herself too hard—she's so obsessed with uncovering the truth that she often sacrifices her own mental and physical health. She suffers from occasional bouts of insomnia and anxiety, sometimes leaving her feeling disoriented or unprepared for the risks she faces. Her inability to trust others fully means she often works alone, even when it would be wiser to ask for help. She's also extremely stubborn, refusing to give up on a story or idea even when it clearly puts her in danger. This often leads to reckless decisions and, at times, a dangerous lack of self-preservation.

Motivations:
Lindsay is determined to uncover the hidden truths of Havenwood—truths that seem to have eluded the town for generations. She’s not sure why she feels so compelled to investigate the town’s strange occurrences, but she suspects that it’s connected to her own past in some way. There’s a deep need for closure, to uncover the secrets her father refuses to speak about, and to understand the eerie pull she feels toward the abandoned parts of town. She wants answers, and she wants to expose whatever lies beneath the surface of Havenwood. However, her motivations are clouded by an underlying fear: that what she uncovers may be something too dangerous to confront, or that it might shatter the fragile sense of control she’s managed to maintain over her life. Despite this, she can’t turn away, and she refuses to leave until she has the answers she’s searching for.

Welcome to Havenwood

Feel free to post now

Welcome to Havenwood

"The First Night"

The fog rolls in thick as ever, clinging to the damp streets like a secret that refuses to be told. The town of Havenwood is quieter than usual tonight—no one’s out walking, no lights from the houses flickering on the horizon. It's as if the whole town is holding its breath. You can almost feel it in the air, a kind of stillness that hums at the edges of your consciousness.

People here don’t talk about the darkness. At least, not aloud. You hear things in whispers, maybe while waiting in line at the grocery store or down at the local bar, but those words are never meant to leave the lips of anyone who knows better. And most people don't even realize there's anything wrong.

But you do. You always have.

It’s the way the shadows linger just a little too long, or the way the sun seems to set just a bit too early some nights. It’s the way you sometimes feel like someone’s watching you, even when you’re alone. And every so often, it’s that bone-deep feeling that things… aren’t quite right.

The town has its own rhythm, but tonight it feels offbeat, like the whole place is trying to catch its breath, teetering on the edge of something it can’t quite define.

You’ve seen the signs. Maybe you’ve felt it too. The creeping dread. The whispers. The strange, haunting dreams that feel too real. It’s all getting worse. And the deeper you look, the more you start to realize the town has been rotting from the inside out for years.

Welcome to Havenwood, Kansas. And don’t expect things to get better anytime soon.

Welcome to Havenwood

What is the timeline on this starting? @Skyline

@Kirah

Should be tonight or tomorrow PST

Welcome to Havenwood

So here is my idea for a character:

Juan Francisco Perico

Name: Juan Francisco Perico
Nickname: Juanfra, Peri
Age: 29 (1975)
Occupation: Owner of the bodega (corner store) in town
Appearance: Juanfra is almost 6ft tall and has a rather strong build, owed to the physical nature of his work. He likes shaving his head bald, but keeps a nice full beard and has dark brown eyes. His go-to outfit is a pair of comfortable sneakers or boots, a pair of dark jeans and either a plain hoodie or sweater over a band or retro gaming shirt. Always wears his silver skull with green eyes earring, sometimes adds a cap or woollen hat depending on the weather. Has a small tattoo of a cute snake on his left wrist.

Personality: Juan is an optimistic and extroverted person who is usually cheery and very chatty. He likes striking up conversations with people in his bodega and is a good listener. However, he also tends to overanalysing what others in town might think of him and has difficulties forgiving people once they have wronged him. Juan is not easily angered and can take jokes just as much as he likes making them, but if you do push him too far he might end up exploding in your face.

Background: Juan is a 2nd generation immigrant to Mexican parents, born and raised in Santa Fe (NM). He had a sheltered and "normal" upbringing up until a tragedy struck his family when he was a senior in high school: His younger sister Laura went missing and was never found, which sadly also ended up tearing his family apart due to grief and anger. After the divorce, his dad stayed in Santa Fe while Juan and his mother moved to Havenwood to take care of his grandma Maria, who owed the bodega at that time. He started helping out there as his mom took over, as his grandma had gotten too old to manage it herself. This also meant he had to sacrifice his dreams to go to a large college and make something out of himself, but he accepted that to keep at least a part of his family together. Since then he has become the manager of the bodega to allow his mom to take of grandma full-time and has moved to a small but nice little apartment right above it. He has also made a few friends since moving here and does feel integrated in his nearby community, but is unsure if this is really the place he wants to spend the rest of his life. He dreams of one day leaving Havenwood and see as many parts of the world as possible, but is scared of what might happen to his family in his absence.

The Touch: Ever since they were children, Juan and his sister Laura have suffered from auditory hallucinations. They would hear voices speaking in soft whispers, but couldn't understand the words the majority of the time. More unsettling, every now and then the soothing whispers would be replaced with guttural sounds that seemed to be a song, and although they could make no sense of it, these songs felt soothing and familiar. As children they talked to their parents about this on multiple occasions, but no doctor could ever confirm anything to be wrong with the siblings. Eventually the pair stopped mentioning it to others, but would talk about it at length amongst them if the sounds got too intense or weird. After Laura disappeared, it became easier for Juan to understand the whispers, sometimes able to make out words or even sentences. Most of them end up being nonsensical listings of seemingly unrelated words.
Weaknesses: Juan's biggest weakness is that he can react emotional a lot of times he should be rational, and is prone to overreaction rather than taking things calmly. He is confident in his day to day, but can get down and have bouts of self-doubt when alone at night, plagued by questions regarding his future and if he is wasting his life in this town. The fact that his sister's disappearance was never solved has created a need to protect what remains of his family and a big hole he has never been able to fill despite his tries to distract himself with alcohol or the occasional drug.
Motivations: He hopes to be there for his family and protect them from anything happening to them. At the same time, he has dreams of one day visiting all the interesting places he has seen in books and movies, yearning for freedom and not feeling bound to a specific place or obligation.

Let me know what you think, excited for this!

@Elmyra

Accepted, Copy and paste it to your post in the cs tab.

Welcome to Havenwood

@Kirah Thanks for letting me know! I have tried leaving it blank but it won't save, so I'll just leave it like that for now

@Elmyra

No worries just leave it like that till you make a cs

Welcome to Havenwood

How do i put someone as co gm? Seeming as chronic wanted to post before i did it.

Welcome to Havenwood

I'm new to the Guild but am very interested in this. I'm such a sucker for creepy small-town horror.

Would you be open to having someone who hasn't done play-by-post in a while in the group?

@magickmaiden

Sure, Long as you can keep up and stuff.

Welcome to Havenwood

Alex Jensen

Name: Alex Jensen
Age: 37
Occupation: Police Officer (formerly Chicago PD, now Havenwood PD)
Appearance: Alex is a physically imposing man, standing at 6'0" with a broad build that hints at years of street work. He has close-cropped, Light brown hair. His face is weathered, etched with lines around his eyes that speak to exhaustion and a grim determination. He favors practical, functional clothing, even off-duty: dark jeans, plain t-shirts, and a Brown corduroy Sherpa lined jacket. A faded scar runs along his left forearm – a souvenir from the past

Personality: Alex is pragmatic and cynical, a result of years spent witnessing the worst of humanity. He's weary, but still possesses a deeply ingrained sense of justice. He's reserved and slow to trust, preferring to observe before acting. He's loyal to those he considers friends, but struggles to form close relationships due to the emotional walls he's built. His strengths lie in his experience, his ability to remain calm under pressure, and his sharp observational skills.

Background: Alex spent his entire career in the Chicago PD, working his way up to Lieutenant. He was good, maybe too good. He closed cases, put away bad guys, but the darkness he encountered left its mark. After a particularly brutal case involving a child abduction that shook him to his core, he started making mistakes. He began self-medicating with alcohol. A forced leave of absence turned into a transfer to Havenwood, a small, quiet town in the middle of nowhere. He hoped for a fresh start, a chance to escape the memories that haunted him. He's divorced, his relationship with his ex-wife strained. He has no children, a fact he both regrets and is relieved by.

The Touch: Alex has always been plagued by vivid, visceral nightmares. These aren't just bad dreams; they're intensely real, often featuring places he's never been and people he's never met, all shrouded in an oppressive, unnatural darkness. Since arriving in Havenwood, the nightmares have intensified, and he sometimes feels a sense of déjà vu, a feeling that the places in his dreams are somehow connected to the town.

Weaknesses: Alcohol, repressed trauma, emotional detachment, a deep-seated fear of failure. He's prone to isolating himself and pushing people away. His cynicism makes him resistant to seeking help, even when he desperately needs it.

Motivations: Alex desperately wants to find peace, to atone for the things he couldn't prevent in Chicago. He wants to prove to himself that he's still a good cop, despite his flaws. He stays in Havenwood because, deep down, he suspects that running won't solve his problems. He also feels a growing sense of responsibility for the town and its residents, a feeling he's hesitant to admit but can't ignore.

Theme:

@Doughboy

Accepted