WELCOME BACK to butterflieshq a semi-appless small 12 character group inspired by the horror game Until Dawn and the tv show’s Dead of Summer, Slasher ‘Guilty Party’, How to Get Away with Murder and Hannibal; where your actions will have a shocking effect on your character. mobile navigation
Hello everyone I’m sure everyone’s been aware of my headaches and my health problems for as long as the roleplay as been open, I have a chronic condition ( i don't feel like talking about it too much on main ) that doesn’t seem to be getting better right now. My headaches are coming more commonly and to make matters worse I have a bunch of big events coming up that I totally forgot about ( plus life seeming enjoys being a dick ). I when I restarted butterflies I had energy for to run this by myself and keep it going; I no longer have that same sense of energy anymore.
I’m so so sorry to announce that butterflies with be shutting it’s doors. It breaks my heart because we never got to the huge plotline I had planned out, we never got to meet three other characters I had planned. It also makes me sad because I stare at the characters you guys made and you never really got to form connections with them like I wanted for you.
So with this long sappy post please understand that if I had a choice I wouldn’t be doing this but at this moment and with my current health I cannot keep butterflieshq open. Maybe one day we’ll come back to the redwoods in the meantime please remember two things: Always watch out for butterflies you don’t know what type of effect they might have on your future and stay out of the woods kids.
Below the cut are all the details you need to complete this weeks task, please note this task is optional for you guys. Please like when you see this posting.
For this task you guys will need to:
Fill out this character stat’s sheet ( You don’t need to do everything on it if you don’t want to ! ).
You may post it along with a graphic, edit, or just a cute image of your character.
Tag it the post with butterflies.task .
Have fun with it, if you need any help at all please do not be afraid to message the main at all.
below the cut are all the details you need to complete this weeks task, please note this task is optional for you guys but it’s a fun get to know you for your character. please like when you see this posting.
create social media profile for character ( example: instagram pt.1 + pt.2 and twitter pt.1 + pt.2 )
you can use whatever you want twitter, instagram, or youtube it just has to be a social media edit of some kind.
here some some templates that might help you with your task ( one, two, three, four. )
tag it with butterflies.task
have fun with it, if you need any help at all please do not be afraid to message the main at all.
are you ever going to add more characters once these characters are all filled?
Hey non, I’ve really thought about this question ( mostly because I’ve been thinking about this roleplay for awhile ) and yes I’m only going to add 3 more spots down the road at timed events; they will be playing pretty important characters into the story which is why I’m not saying anything about them now and the application process will be much different.
* ( ALISHA BOE, 22 , CIS WOMAN, SHE/HER ) welcome back to the redwoods ( ODESSA “DESSIE” BAILEY ) i hope this time goes better for them than last. their friends like to call them ( THE DOLLFACE ) but they don’t believe that they behave quite that way. they are know for being ( EMPATHETIC ) and ( CREATIVE ) but I doubt that people will over look the fact that the ( TWENTY TWO YEAR OLD ) is also quite ( ANXIOUS ) and ( STUBBORN. ) i hope they can survive until the morning light *
TW FOR MENTIONS OF KIDNAPPING INFERTILITY, ANXIETY, PANIC ATTACKS, AND MEDICATION BELOW THE CUT.
BIOGRAPHY:
Born to loving and very excited parents, Amburo and Alexander Bailey, on an early & stormy morning. The newlywedded couple was over the moon about their first born child. They were constantly praised for being such good parents despite this being their first child. “wow! you know that trick?” / “you mean you’re not completely exhausted all the time?” - The duo were the magic duo and nothing could possibly stop them.
That is until they find Odessa’s bed completely empty one morning; the back window wide open. it’s a heartbreaking and panic-filled moment. There’s no way an 8 year old would wander off on their own - through the back window, no less. the police are called immediately, though Odessa wouldn’t be found until 7 months later. so, who took Odessa bailey? believe it or not, it was her aunt and uncle, who are unable to conceive (and the rocky relationship between alexander and his sister surely didn’t help any matters). Of course, Odessa was not the same after these events; no one expected her to be.
Whatever happened during these 7 months was enough to shake her to her core. Odessa started therapy shortly after coming back home. she didn’t talk much but she did draw what she was feeling and thinking; she immediately found comfort in these drawings - and drawing in general. The longer she was in therapy, the more she started to rebuild herself. although, therapy alone wasn’t enough to tackle her anxiety and panic attacks. Her first panic attack was severe enough that she ended up in the hospital. Middle school goes by in the blink of an eye. by that point, Odessa is talking again; she’s caring and kindhearted and very cautious. She helps others, cares for them before tending to her own needs. perhaps it’s simply in her nature - or maybe it’s because she doesn’t want anyone to feel as horrible as she once did. She meets Nathlia when she’s 14 and the rest is history. there’s an instant click: part of the reason Odessa got over most of her anxiety is because of Nathlia (or that’s what her parents think, anyway).
She was able to get Odessa out of her comfort zone while never pushing her too hard and always ensuring she was okay. The pair were truly two peas in a pod. and honestly, Odessa very much felt that way about her friend group, too. she loves and cares for them all dearly. That night is a blur. it was the first time in…. well, ever that Odessa decided to fully let loose and get drunk. And that’s the night that things go south, of course.
Not only does she wake up the morning after with an extremely bad hangover but she also finds out the news about Nathlia being missing.
Her anxiety is worse than ever after this; it’s so bad, in fact, that she has to go on medications to help her. and while she does still have the odd panic attack ever-so often, the meds do very much help her control her anxiety. The years between 2017 and 2020 are full of therapy sessions, drawing to avoid reality, nightmares about Nathlia and Odessa desperately trying to move on in life. She had applied for 3 schools as an art major and is hoping to become an art teacher in the future. But for now, she has to survive going back to the redwoods…
* ( TOM HOLLAND, 21 , CISMALE, HE/HIM ) welcome back to the redwoods ( DENNIS TAYLOR-WYATT ) i hope this time goes better for them than last. their friends like to call them the ( THE TRY HARD ) but they don’t believe that they behave quite that way. they are know for being ( LOYAL ) and ( INTELLIGENT ) but I doubt that people will over look the fact that the ( TWENTY ONE YEAR OLD ) is also quite ( ANXIOUS ) and ( SUPERSTITIOUS ). i hope they can survive until the morning light *
TW FOR DRUG USE ( COCAINE ) BELOW THE CUT.
BIOGRAPHY:
Dennis - or Denny, as he’s affectionately known - isn’t someone you’d expect to be involved in an on-going police investigation. Known for being rather reserved, studious, and - for lack of a better term - a “goody-goody” he’s someone who’d prefer to stay in watching movies instead of partying it up in a cabin in the Redwoods. But, he’s also fiercely loyal to his friends. So when they decided on the plan for that fateful weekend, he couldn’t say no.
He’s the youngest of 4 boys and, though he knows they love him, feels a bit like a burden on his overworked parents. They both have great careers and have pushed their sons to do the same, much to Denny’s dismay. His oldest brother is finishing up his last year of med school, the second just landed an associate position at a big law firm, & the third brother is climbing the corporate finance ladder. Meanwhile, Denny is getting ready to graduate with a degree in a field he isn’t truly passionate about, but that will impress his parents.
Throughout his studies, Denny has given 110% in everything he does because “that’s what Wyatt boys do, son,” an adage his father was always quick to bring into any conversation. He spent his free time devoting his attention to projects that would make him look good instead of what he really was interested in, but he’d rather have his parents’ approval than risk their disappointment. This caused Denny to develop a high level of stress, which he’s never really learned to deal with.
He’s not known for being rebellious; the craziest thing he’d ever done (before Nathlia’s disappearance, of course) was that he let one of the kids in his class cheat off his exam. Obviously this wasn’t his proudest moment, and his parents weren’t too happy with what he’d done. They made it seem like Denny force-fed the other kid the answers after stealing them from the teachers desk. That’s when he experienced his first panic attack, and vowed never to do something that “extreme” again.
However, when he got to college, to deal with the stress, a full schedule, & the overwhelming pressure to be the best, Denny experimented with drugs that would help him focus. It started off with taking his friend’s Adderall pills, but soon escalated into something more extreme: cocaine. An acquaintance in one of his classes was known around campus for providing undergrads what he called “performance boosters” & soon, Denny was hooked. But, he was able to keep control on how often he indulged & avoid it from becoming a habit he’d never be able to break. Denny completely kicked the habit before the start of the semester, but has been tempted to pick it up again with the stresses of senior year.
He justified going to the cabin by needing to let off some stress. He’d be able to spend time with his friends, get drunk, and just take some time for himself; a very rare thing for him. He lied to his parents by masking the trip as a “study retreat” in order to ease their worries & prevent them from saying he couldn’t go. Excited to (finally) be free for a weekend, Denny was prepared for a memorable time, and it was, but for all the wrong reasons. The years following that fateful weekend did a number on Denny’s mental health. He couldn’t sleep, he developed an anxiety disorder, and his stress levels were severely heightened. Obviously when his parents found out, they grounded him for what felt like an eternity, but was only for about a month. He still feels like they never really forgave him for lying to them & that they believe he could have actually hurt Nathlia. Whether he or not is a secret he’d never tell.
Because I oddly keep getting stuck on this one when trying to brainstorm...fc ideas for the Baby?
You got it Nonnie: Victoria Pedretti, Florence Pugh, Josephine Langford, Katie Chang, Lana Condor, Grace Fulton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Priscilla Quintana, Alex Saxson, Conan Gray, Rhenzy Feliz, Rj Cyler, Ryan Potter, Jordan Fisher, and Ross Butler.
* ( DARREN BARNET, 22, CIS MALE, HE/HIM ) welcome back to the redwoods ( SETH KANESHIRO ) i hope this time goes better for them than last. their friends like to call them the ( THE VENGEFUL ) but they don’t believe that they behave quite that way. they are know for being ( DEVOTED ) and ( CONFIDENT ) but I doubt that people will over look the fact that the ( TWENTY TWO YEAR OLD ) is also quite ( CALLOUS ) and ( VOLATILE ). i hope they can survive until the morning light *
BIOGRAPHY :
If you had told people that Seth Kaneshiro, straight-A student, president of the debate team – would go on to become the school dropout – they would never have believed you. That is, until the death of Nathlia Scott.
Seth Kaneshiro and Nathlia Scott had known each other since they were kids – their mothers had been best friends since college and their children had grown up together. Seth can’t remember a time when he wasn’t spending weekends at the Scott house, helping Nathlia’s Mom make dinner, cramming for finals on the couch or teasing each other on their choice of homecoming dates. As kids, Seth had been quiet, nervous – while Nathlia had been so strong, brave, single handedly forcing him to make friends since preschool.
The two of them challenged each other. Seth had always admired how hard Nathlia worked, her ability to commit herself to any task. It was because of her encouragement that he decided to take debate – and he would look forward to seeing her, cheering or rolling her eyes at him in the crowd. When she died, he quit debate soon after – he couldn’t bear the thought of that empty seat, of searching for in the crowd.
Seth’s parents separated when he was fourteen and he lives in a small apartment with his Dad. The Scotts’ were like family to him, taking him in and treating him like one of their own. Sometimes Seth wonders if the only good parts of himself were the ones that existed when he was with them. After Nathlia’s death, the boy that they knew – caring, thoughtful – seemed to have died as well. He gradually started skipping school – talking to police authorities or returning to the Redwoods forest to find clues, sometimes staying late into the night. On the weekends, he could be found at any of the house parties in town, throwing back drinks, flirting with strangers – anything to distract himself from the image of Nathlia, cold and dying. After a while, he couldn’t bring himself to return to the Scotts’ house.
In Seth’s kind opinion – the police were fucking useless. Everyone had been too quick to close the case instead of doing something, looking for her. Seth grew volatile – the cutthroat remarks and sharp observance he had once shown on the debate stage had turned towards his teachers and friends. He picked fights with any student who so much as insinuated that Nathlia was too drunk that night, that she had deserved it in some way. By senior year, he had stopped coming to school altogether. But it was no use – Nathlia had vanished without a trace, and Seth couldn’t find anything to suggest otherwise.
Presently, Seth is working at his Dad’s bar. He organises orders, tallies up profits and handles the employee wages at the end of each week. In high school, he had considered studying economics. He supposes, in a roundabout way, he kind of is. He just never thought he’d be breaking up this many bar fights as well.
Anyone working the late shift at the bar, or any deadbeat regular who stays long past last call – can tell you that Seth Kaneshiro doesn’t believe that Nathlia is dead. They nod sympathetically, clap him on the shoulder – but they don’t believe him. Any fool can see that he cared deeply for her, probably even loved her – but none of that matters now, not when she’s gone. Seth keeps his investigation to himself – doesn’t say anything about his own theories. Instead, he takes his anger out on sleazy assholes at the bar, drunk guys who make the mistake of asking him if he knew ‘that dead chick’ – he’s an open wound, bleeding fists, a shot of whiskey to dull the pain.
After the incident, Seth completely changed in the eyes of his friends. Where he had once been charming and funny, he had become cutting – distrustful of anyone in their circle, of anyone who might have left that door closed on Nathlia. His guilt was directed inward as much as it was directed to the others – but anyone who tried to stay, to help – would sometimes witness his destruction. Seth also knows, in some way, that he’s being left behind. He never graduated from high school, never made plans for college – this isn’t a grand goodbye for him. But he’s going to the cabin with the intention to get some answers, to finally find some catharsis about what happened – to stop chasing after a ghost. And if he can’t find out what happened? Well, Seth supposes that he’ll just have to break into the liquor cabinet instead.
* ( REINA HARDESTY , TWENTY-THREE , CIS FEMALE, SHE/HER ) welcome back to the redwoods ( NIKOLINA ‘NIKO’ SCOTT ) i hope this time goes better for them than last. their friends like to call them the ( THE SIBLING ) but they don’t believe that they behave quite that way. they are know for being ( CHARISMATIC ) and ( TOUGH ) but I doubt that people will over look the fact that the ( TWENTY THREE YEAR OLD ) is also quite ( DETACHED ) and ( GUILT-RIDDEN ). i hope they can survive until the morning light *
BIOGRAPHY :
She had never really figured out how to be an older sister - how could she, when everything that took ages for Niko seemed to come so easily to Nathlia? Where Niko was tough and hard to know, her sister was a bright light. It had been a joke, really, that Niko had been born from the darker side of the womb, avoiding all the light and joy for her younger sister.
Oh, she loved her, of course she did. Niko may have worn combat boots and been more interested in graphic design and script writing than tedious things like geography and debate glass, but there was a soft spot for her family all the same. Every argument with her parents, every disagreement over her college prospects, it all seemed a little brighter when her sister came to check on her. As if maybe her aspirations for a life different than their family had laid out for them wasn’t as ludicrous and far-fetched after all.
It was meant to be a night none of them would forget; drinking, partying, laughing until sunrise and then going home to their parents, pretending none of it had happened. God, what she wouldn’t do to go back and make sure that was exactly how it ended. Nothing quite like waking up from a beer induced coma to discover your precious sister wasn’t inside, with no sign of her in any of the surrounding areas. Panic drove her decisions that morning, screaming at each and every one of her friends, waking them one by one, demanding to know why the hell nobody had kept an eye on her, how nobody had noticed she was gone.
Anger became the driving force in everything in the weeks that followed. An investigation turning up nothing but questions. Parents, who had long since stopped understanding Nikolina anyways, beginning to look at her with eyes that proved she was not forgiven. Weeks blurred into months, a red haze around her vision as time began to drag by. Sleepless nights fed into sealing her sister’s door tight behind her, determining nobody could disrupt it until (if) the day came that she returned.
She was gone, but she was everywhere. Most days, Niko almost wished she could say the same for herself.
Everything was a blur, the grief, the time, the small part of her that ached to return to the Redwoods and finish the search the police had given up on. All her dreams of getting the hell out of town, going to college, being far away from her parents and beginning a life bigger than they had dreamed for her went away. Niko swore she was fine. Promised the worst of it was over, that her grief had subsided in the years that passed, always on the verge of throwing a fist into noses when she caught them staring at her with those poor you eyes. Others called it the promise of moving on, but it was more than that. Despite the rage, the grief she refused to acknowledge, Niko could feel it. Whatever had happened to Nathlia that night, she had to still be out there somewhere, if only she could figure it out. She had never learned how to be a good sister until it was too late. But she’d be damned not to try now.
* ( AMADEUS SERAFINI, 22 , MALE, HE/HIM ) welcome back to the redwoods ( BENNETT RAWLSTON III ) i hope this time goes better for them than last. their friends like to call them the ( LIAR ) but they don’t believe that they behave quite that way. they are know for being ( CHARMING ) and ( PROTECTIVE ) but I doubt that people will over look the fact that the ( TWENTY TWO YEAR OLD ) is also quite ( PERSUASIVE ) and ( INDEPENDENT ). i hope they can survive until the morning light *
TW FOR UNDERAGED DRINKING, MENTIONS OF SEX, PREGNANCY AND DEATH UNDER THE CUT!
BIOGRAPHY :
Coming from a prestigious background, it wasn’t abnormal for one to have a tendency to break the rules from time to time. Whether it be sneaking out of the house, robbing the local gas station, or spray painting the exterior walls of abandoned buildings; anything was possible with the teens in the outskirts of New York.
Bennett Rawlston was no exception to this rule. He was the exact opposite of what his family expected of him. While the Rawlston name was known for their prideful, elegant, sophisticated nature, most people that were in Bennett’s life knew him as being quote the opposite. The boy had a passion for trouble. While his friends would do most of the work, Bennett was always right there following along and of course taking as much of the credit as he could. Cause, honestly, what kind of fun were you if you couldn’t at least pretend to live on the edge of your seat right?
Being a Rawlston wasn’t all fun and games though. While Bennett spent as much time as he could away from home, he still had an image to maintain. His father - Bennett Rawlston II - was a circuitous lawyer, one that had many clients who were usually found guilty on whatever terms he was fighting against. Brown hair mimicked his son’s, but most of his features were the completely opposite. Skin a pale color due to lack of sunshine. Voice gruff and stern, though, quiet most often as he usually wasn’t seen without some documents, a whiskey glass or both in his hands. All were features that could be described by most people in New York City; he was the seventh generation of Rawlston men to maintain the name sake in the city after all. Marina Rawlston - a reserved lady with little to no say about most things in her own life - was kind. Blonde hair and blue eyes accented her face; the smallest hint of fear cascading in the deep crevices of her eyes for reasons most people - even her family - didn’t understand.
Friday nights were always dedicated to dinner parties, grand meals and many guests gathered around the table, congratulating the family on their next biggest triumph. Being a Rawlston was a whole event within itself, and anyone would be thrilled to be a member of the family. That was, of course, everyone except for Bennett.
The older the male got, the more he desired to cause trouble. His group of friends got smaller, but the schemes among his friends got larger, and Bennett was living for it. It was at the age of thirteen that Bennett met Kaila, the girl he fell head over heels for. She was the complete opposite of him in most ways - her family was no where near rich, which was the only thing that really mattered to him - and she was the life of the party. Even though she was a bit older than him (three years older than him to be exact), that didn’t stop Bennett from pursuing her in any way he possibly could. The two hit it off quickly, and before he knew it things were getting serious, intimate, and Bennett was falling - hard.
Nearly six months into the relationship the crew all gathered for a night just to party. Alcohol - provided from Mr. Rawlston’s liquor cabinet - was the higlight of the night of course. Kaila and Bennett couldn’t keep their hands off of each other, all while the rest of the friend group made fun of them for the amount of PDA they were expressing when Kaila asked Bennett if they could be alone. After being intimate, the girl told Bennett she needed to tell him something. She was pregnant; Bennett was going to be a father at thirteen years of age. How could he have been so careless? There was no way this could happen; they were too young and he had to convince her to do something.
Two weeks after Kaila told Bennett the news, the group of friends were all at an abandoned warehouse, partying just like they’d done many times before. Bennett seemed distant, but the male knew it was just the nerves of trying to talk to Kaila that was bothering him. Conversation struck and an argument began to spark; the girl was going to go through with the pregnancy. She didn’t care how immature and drunk Bennett seemed to be, she was going to keep this baby, regardless. She didn’t want him to ‘regret it in the morning’. The fight continued and Bennett and Kaila separated, but unlike most of his friends who didn’t care, Bennett was too drunk to try to go home, so instead he slept there, the concrete floor serving as his bed for the night.
Hours turned into days, which turned into weeks of no communication between Bennett and Kaila. The fight had been pretty bad; Bennett wasn’t concerned. That of course, was until rumors started spreading. Kaila had been missing for weeks and no one knew where to find her. Her parents hadn’t seen her since the night of the argument, and Bennett had been too drunk to at least make sure she made it home safely. News stories flooded all the stations with reports of the missing girl, none of which led to anymore evidence that she was found than the one before it. It was all a blur, a crazy stupid nightmare. It had to be.
That was until Kaila’s body was found at the warehouse that Bennett and his friends had been at that night. The coroner explained that fowl play seemed to be involved, and that she’d been there for nearly a month and a half - the timeline adding up to be the night of the argument. Kaila had been murdered, and all signs pointed to Bennett. With his father on his side, Bennett fought to prove his innocence; there was no way that he was going down without a fight. The trial seemed to be never ending, and by the skin of his teeth Bennett was able to get by, the case being ruled as an accident, but the town still pointed their fingers at Bennett even with little evidence he was there. Rumors flew that he pushed her off the ledge and that’s why she was on the bottom of the ground like that. others stated they could be heard arguing about her cheating on him and that’s why he was so angry. Others - some of his friends - say that he acted enraged, but that even they knew that Bennett was innocent. Once his name was cleared and everyone gave the family a second to breathe, the Rawlston’s packed and moved town. A fresh start would do them some good.
As Bennett turned fourteen and the start of a new school year was fresh upon him, he began to create a new life for himself. One where he could do whatever he wanted. Be whoever he wanted. His friend group began to grow as he made himself familiar with the school, and Bennett began to become more thankful for the fresh start; here he didn’t have to maintain a reputation because of his dad. Here, he could be normal. Freshman year was the year that Bennet Rawlston became the person everyone wanted to be friends with. Maybe it was the designer clothes he wore to school everyday. Maybe it was the giving personality he seemed to radiate around the school as he tried to fit in. All he knew was that he loved it.
At the prime of his fourteenth year - and without even realizing it was happening - Bennett (or Benny as his new group of friends liked to call him) was introduced to a girl that would change his life again; Nathlia Scott. Benny and Nat hit it off rather quickly; some even joke it was love at first sight. And while the thought was reassuring, it also scared Benny, more than he cared to admit. Every second of every day was spent with Nat, whether it be together alone or with their group of friends that he’d made here you’d never see one without the other. The two became serious rather quickly, and by the time they both were the age of sixteen, people even joked they were going to get married. Everyone was envious of their love for each other, and while Benny was still terrified from times before him, he was learning more day by day to live in the moment.
While everything for Benny and Nat was pretty much picture perfect, there was a secret that Benny was hiding from everyone in the friend circle, including Nat. He’d been sleeping with her friend for months without anyone knowing. The two of them knew of course, and while Benny knew that it would ruin Nat if she ever found out he just couldn’t stop. There was something so intoxicating about them, about the way that they connected on a more physical level than he ever had with Nat. He loved Nat, probably more than he’d ever loved anyone or anything, however, Benny loved sex just as much, if not more.
Things between Benny and Nat were starting to get distant. With the talk of college, the next big chapter of their lives becoming prime conversation topic for most of Benny’s senior year, things were starting to become stressful. Every conversation felt forced almost, and Benny wanted the freedom he’d felt when he first moved here. That of course all changed when they took the trip that weekend that changed their lives forever.
Benny had fully prepared to talk to Nat about them taking a break, that maybe some time apart would be good for both of them. The night ended up going the opposite as planned though, and Benny never got to talk to her. Between the alcohol, the partying and Benny getting locked in a room with Nat’s friend for the night, things couldn’t possibly go anymore wrong then they already were. Of course, that’s what everyone thought anyways.
That was before Nat went missing; and one of them was the culprit. Which one was it? Which one was at fault? Did someone know about Benny’s secret romance and this was their way of getting him out of it? Or framing him? But most importantly, what would his friends think if they ever found out the real reason he moved to the Redwoods; and that this wasn’t the first time this had happened to him?
* ( ALVA BRATT, 20 , CIS WOMAN, SHE/HER ). welcome back to the redwoods ( EMBER ‘EMMY’ SPARROW ) i hope this time goes better for them than last. their friends like to call them the ( THE CARETAKER ) but they don’t believe that they behave quite that way. they are know for being ( FELICIFIC ) and ( PRAGMATIC ) but I doubt that people will over look the fact that the ( TWENTY YEAR OLD ) is also quite ( POSSESSIVE ) and ( IRASCIBLE. ) i hope they can survive until the morning light *
BIOGRAPHY :
Imogen West and Jonah Sparrow were not exactly a match made in heaven. What started in a cramped bathroom stall at a Red Hot Chili Pepper’s concert should probably have ended later that night, but the young couple found themselves married and expecting a daughter only a few months later. Young, in love, and with very little money to their name was a recipe for disaster, and though they gave it the old ‘college try’, even adding another addition to their family 8 years after Emmy was born, their two children would serve as the only real proof that the two had ever been able to stand each other.
Imogen had big plans for herself – plans she was tired of letting the small family she had started deter her – and signed full custody over to Jonah before disappearing. Jonah, feeling clueless on how to be a single parent, turned to less than healthy habits to try and distract himself from it all. Though he worked all day to keep his home in his possession and food on his table, he spent his evenings at bars and strip clubs, casinos and friends’ homes – anywhere his children weren’t.
Emmy became the main parent at home to her younger brother, Benji, – signing his school field trip permission slips, making sure his homework was done, and getting him to bed at a reasonable hour. They would sleep through the sound of their father coming home (on the nights that he even bothered). When she entered high school, Emmy met Nathlia, and she quickly grew to think of the outspoken girl as her best friend. As her group of friends slowly built around her, Emmy found herself feeling lucky for her found family.
Emmy easily took up the position of the ‘mom’ of the group, having had so much experience with her younger brother. She felt as though people would always come to her when they needed advice, or a shoulder to cry on, or someone to remind them to put on their sunscreen before they went to the pool. She seemed to take on the lion’s share of the guilt when Nat disappeared, chiding herself on the daily for letting herself get so far gone, for not realizing Nat was gone sooner, for not keeping a constant head count. (No one had asked her to do any of those things, but that’s what she was best at.)
With her head kept down, Emmy graduated high school, feeling her friends slipping away from her one by one, and rededicated herself to her younger brother. She worried every day about going to college, leaving her little brother behind, and wondered if she should just not bother. However, when she received a full ride scholarship to UCLA, she dedicated herself to getting a job so she could bring Benji with her. All that was left to do was say goodbye to her friends, say goodbye to the memories, and finally get her closure.
* ( ABIGAIL COWEN, 21, CIS FEMALE, SHE/HER ) welcome back to the redwoods ( SERAPHINE DAVIS ) i hope this time goes better for them than last. their friends like to call them the ( THE ANGELIC ) but they don’t believe that they behave quite that way. they are know for being ( GRACEFUL ) and ( CAPTIVATING ) but I doubt that people will over look the fact that the ( TWENTY-ONE YEAR OLD ) is also quite ( AIRY ) and ( GUARDED ). i hope they can survive until the morning light *
BIOGRAPH:
From the day she was born, there were impossible standards placed upon Seraphine. the title of angelic tacked onto her from first impression, for her parents, it was more of a hopeful manifestation. they were far from a successful family. Seraphine was never planned and as she grew up, she became the glue holding her family together. Her father dropped out of school to pursue a construction job. her mother doing the same for a cosmetology job.
Seraphine starting to excel in school turned their attentions both solely on her.
When Nat went missing, Fee threw herself into her studies. leaving her mind vacant meant it would soon be filled with thoughts of her missing friend. she didn’t know how to cope or heal, so she never gave herself the chance. her parents just embraced her when she did that. No matter how much she was suffering, she was perfect on paper. something shiny to show off even though it was all jagged edges.
She’s always been a pretty picture to the outside and no one cared to look deeper.
After graduation, fee kept on the track she thought her parents wanted. ( the track that kept her functioning without nat. )she went to college. The goal? honestly, fee didn’t even know. something around a social worker or psychological profiler. some kind of magical role where she could help solve missing persons cases in the future.
She let down nathlia, but she could be a guardian angel to those coming after her. even though she thought she was doing the right thing, her parents announced their divorce and then three months later, Nathlia was declared dead.
* ( davika hoorne, 23, cis woman, she/her ) welcome back to the redwoods ( ella sun ) i hope this time goes better for them than last. their friends like to call them the ( changed ) but they don’t believe that they behave quite that way. they are known for being ( compassionate ) and ( peaceful ) but I doubt that people will over look the fact that the ( twenty three year old ) is also quite ( insecure ) and ( withdrawn ). i hope they can survive until the morning light *
TW: CULTS/CULT LIKE BEHAVIOR BELOW THE CUT
BIOGRAPHY :
Ella Sun was always a bit of a rough-and-tumble kind of girl. The kind who wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, the kind who was maybe a bit mean - but all in good fun. Ella’s friends knew her as the one who always had a snarky comment and a prank just this side of cruel up her sleeve, but also a shoulder to cry on and blunt, but necessary advice.
She was a natural older sister who never really got to be one, since her little brother died when he was just five, when Ella was seven. Her parents both changed at that point, grieving the loss of their son and becoming far less of a presence in their daughter’s life; over the years Ella began to do more and more crazy stuff and getting in trouble more, the classic case of the problem child who acts out to get their neglectful parents’ attention. before too long, Ella began to be known as the wild one, the rulebreaker, the troublemaker who would take any risk if someone dared her to.
Still hurting from the loss of her little brother, Ella was more than willing to adopt Nathlia and her other friends as her new honorary younger siblings - not quite as caring or nurturing as the caretaker, more than willing to be just as mean as she was nice (and getting into fights far too frequently, especially with the more abrasive of the bunch), but always with good intentions. Ella was loud and fun and always willing to encourage the group to get into crazy stuff. (was it her idea to get a cabin away from their parents? was it her idea to have someone bribe an older friend or relative to bring the alcohol? it was so long ago. she can’t remember.)
( was ella the one who locked the door that night? )
All her friends know is that after that night, Ella shut down. their fun, carefree, wild friend was as gone as Nathlia was. she became quiet, drawn into herself; for all her remaining time at school, she rarely spoke, and all but cut contact with her former friends as soon as she graduated. Ella, losing the second younger sibling figure she’d had, lost herself, and left town, only keeping one or two of her old friends’ numbers in her phone just in case and never reaching out.
While she was at college, lost and consumed by guilt, Ella met a man named Christoph in one of her classes, who recognized her as a lost, drifting soul. Christoph introduced himself as the leader of a small, tightly-knit christian group that promised her a new direction in life. Ella was far from certain, having not been raised religiously and not really believing, but at this point, she was alone enough that she wanted to believe in anything, so she went to a few meetings. She found herself drawn to their promise of salvation and ended up going more and more often.
Turning a new chapter, Ella became practically an entirely different person - swearing off her old, sinful ways that led to Nathlia’s death, Ella became devout and faithful. A part of the reason for this 180 was that Ella genuinely wanted to improve and become a better person, and she did, to an extent; though the old, older-sister figure Ella used to be was gone forever, Ella was able to come out of her grief-stricken shell a bit, become invested in being a good person and helping others as an outlet for her trauma. She would never be as outspoken or outgoing as she was before, but neither did she stay the same traumatized person she was after Nathlia’s death. Ella had a cause she believed in, and it did do her good.
Unfortunately for Ella, her new church was not an entirely benevolent one; though they didn’t do anything all that crazy, like predict or hope for the end times or try to kill anyone, they insisted on Ella slowly giving up more and more of herself to the church until she began to lose herself in it. But to Ella, it seemed like a good deal - since she didn’t really want to be herself anyway. Ella basically didn’t have any social circle outside of the group, since she had cut contact with her old friends and her parents rarely called, meaning that she didn’t really have any reason not to devote most of her time and energy to the church. Over a year or two Ella underwent a complete transformation, feeling guilty and ashamed of herself and trying to form herself into a pure, perfect girl to fit the church’s expectations. She wasn’t judgemental of those outside - but she was far, far too judgemental of herself, beating herself up for every misstep and trying to be better in the hopes that she wouldn’t be ostracized by the only social group she had. Ella became kinder and kinder to the world, but slowly began to hate herself more and more, in the guilt that had begun festering ever since Nathlia’s death.
And then Ella received an invitation from an old friend to travel to where it all began. she didn’t want to, at first - but eventually she convinced herself she had to go and face her past. Though she was nervous to face her old friends with how much she’d changed, she still went through with it, and returned to the redwoods once again.
* ( HARRISON OSTERFIELD, 23 , CISMALE, HE/HIM/HIS ) welcome back to the redwoods ( JUDE PIERIS ) i hope this time goes better for them than last. their friends like to call them the ( POISONOUS ) but they don’t believe that they behave quite that way. they are know for being ( SELF-ASSURED ) and ( STEADFAST ) but I doubt that people will over look the fact that the ( TWENTY THREE YEAR OLD ) is also quite ( MACHIAVELLIAN ) and ( DECEITFUL ). i hope they can survive until the morning light *
BIOGRAPHY :
The money poured into his grandfather’s pockets, riches and notoriety raked in from more things than Jude was ever able to count, more than he was ever told, and yet no amount of riches can buy respect from those that truly matter, those that pull the puppet strings of the world in clothes that drip with gold. Jude’s grandfather learned this. His parents learned this. And now he has learned it, and the lesson has sunk in so well it spreads reminders of its existence with every beat of Jude’s heart, with every electric thought darting through his mind. Respect cannot be bought.
There is only one option if one wants to be anything. There has only ever been one option, as nothing is ever given freely. If you cannot buy it, Jude has learned that he must instead pepper in lies, sprinkle in deception, and add a healthy dose of manipulation. This method was introduced over countless chess games that always seemed to end in a grubby toddler biting back tears as he lost yet again. It has stayed because it works. Most people don’t live like this, but why would they? Most weren’t meant for something, most were not born with weights attached to their shoulders and heels desperate to pull them under the tide of greatness, and that is why they will never be like Jude. Or at least, that is how he rationalizes it.
Secrets are currency and bait, whispers can be as loud as a yell if used correctly, and the best way to deliver poison is through something honeyed and beautiful.
Of course this is all the reason behind it. Jude knows what others think of him, what words they assign and the reputation he has gained over years of doing what it takes to be the best, and he knows he is. But for those that don’t understand the game of the world, it is not success that beats forward with every action he takes, it is poison, it is harm, and he is a villain for it.
Jude knows this. Perhaps it would have once bothered him, back before he knew better. Now? Now it is nothing less than yet another sign of his success. Has Jude ever explained the reasoning behind his actions to anyone? No, of course not. Everyone knows the backstory ruins the monster, the shadow in every fairytale, and who is Jude to strip them of their comforts? They think they know what to watch for. Only time will tell how true that assumption is.
It had been the lot he had drawn, driven ever-forward by the desire to be perfect, a beautiful gleaming statue of a man with words so saccharine to hide the bitter taste of arsenic underneath them, and it suited him. No one was too willing to touch something that they knew would bite and make them bleed, despite the beautiful colors that decorated it so. No one, of course, until Nathlia.
Jude had thought it was a joke at first. How he had ended up at that school was a mystery for the ages, and much of the student population seemed to agree. No one sat at his table. It was an island in the vast sea of the lunch room that no one was willing to land upon, not until a lunch tray had slammed down and an already opened juice bottle shook with all the balance of a drunken Scotsman in a kilt. She laughed, sat down, catching the bottle before it spilled. Jude didn’t say a word. That didn’t seem to matter though, not to Nathlia. She talked enough that lunch period for the both of them. And she did the same the next day. And the next. Jude had thought it was a joke at first, but as the fourth day of Nathlia sitting with him at lunch rolled around, he began to suspect it was a prank.
That day, when Nathlia sat down, smiling and bright, Jude stood up. “I don’t know who put you up to this,” he said, calm as could be. “I don’t know what you plan to get out of this. But,” he whispered softly, a smile as soft as a cherub’s wings across his face, as he leaned in, hands resting on the table to support him. “I’m sure anyone as bright as you can tell when something isn’t worth poking, correct? Now would be a good time to drop that stick before I snap it.” It wasn’t Jude’s usual method, revealing too much in one simple stroke, but Nathlia wasn’t his usual target. It had been a sacrifice he was willing to make, and though if he had more time he would have much preferred to coil around the girl, whispering deceit into the ears of Eve, a hard and fast strike seemed to be the best bet.
Nathlia only smiled, brighter, before laughing long and clear, the sound cutting through the din of the lunch room like the chime of a bell. “I knew you were grumpy,” she chuckled, “but I didn’t realize just how crabby you really are. Luckily,” she added, beaming so bright the sun itself could not compare, “I’m here to balance you out. Come on, I’ve got some friends for you to meet.” Taking her tray in one hand, her other wrapped around Jude’s elbow, pulling him towards the group of people that would become fixtures and pillars of consistency in his life.
But as she pulled him forward towards a future Jude could scarcely imagine, Nathlia’s fingers burned against his arm and into his memory If he had ever bothered to tell anyone, to let someone see him beyond the smiles, the compliments loaded like venom into his mouth, he’d tell them that was the moment he tumbled off the ledge of aloofness and into the kind of crush only teenagers ever seem able to summon.
It would have been sweet, if the nature of the entire thing did not run so counterintuitive to who Jude was. Once, in a news article, the reporter had joked that the Pieris family, for all the prestige they commanded, all the events they both hosted and attended, that there was nothing but ice beneath the dazzling surface of them all. It had been a joke. Nevertheless, it had rung true with the notes only offhand observations ever seem to be able to. Jude had that same ice in him, and when excitement and infatuation came along to melt it, it certainly succeeded, but left him without the structure he had come to rely upon.
At first, it was like a magpie, tottering to and fro in an attempt to find the perfect object, glinting in the sunlight, for a person it liked. There had always been more money in his life than Jude knew what to do with, and now he believed he had a use for it, bringing token upon token to Nathlia that he passed off as nothing more than trifles, small tokens picked up from corner stores when in reality they had come from around the world, each costing thousands.
Jude’s parents never asked what he needed them for. If they had, he would have told them they were business investments. It wouldn’t have been a lie. Beneath the mess and tangle of mesys human things, a relationship was a business contract, an alliance. His family cemented business deals in small tokens of favor. Jude figured such an approach would bear fruit. It always seemed to at home, and it wasn’t as if he knew any other form of affection.
Surprising no one but Jude himself, the plan failed. It died quietly, in a hole hidden from the sun and prying eyes like a wounded animal, and it didn’t seem to matter to anyone else but Jude. The plan just didn’t end up working. Jude would swear that to this day. Sometimes, he doubted they even noticed it had failed, not when every other person there seemed to adore Nathlia with something bright and pure Jude could never seem to summon. He hadn’t noticed it before, not until Nathlia had dragged him to that table that fateful day, but there was light in this world. None of it came from Jude. The issue, of course, had been pretending that it did. He lived a life above the puppet strings of the world, knew how to make them dance before he could read, and yet he had chosen to try something else, something that could only ever fail. What else could he do but return to the only lessons Jude knew?
Or, at least that was the plan. That weekend they went to the cabin. Everyone knows how that went.
The lessons Nathlia had taught him mixed with the grief, the rage, and the uncertainty of her disappearance, coalescing into a rotting tangled mess that dripped into his bones, heart, and mouth, waiting to be released into the world. Jude had been mean before, always hitting too close to home with things he swore were jokes, but now there was no such cover, no such allure. In the missing gap of where his light had once been, Jude clothed himself in dark silks and darker words, preferring to hit to kill, whether that was with his words or his fists. There was no trouble he could not buy his way out of and no target he saw as out of reach. His family’s business had grown 24% last quarter, and Jude knew that no small part of that had been the words and blows that had taken the competition out long before they could breach the boardrooms. There was even the slightest glimmer of respect in the eyes of those that truly mattered, and all it had cost was what truly had worth: friends, love, and intimacy.
But what did such things matter in the end? Jude asked himself that every day after Nathlia went missing, and he could never find an answer. His life simply did not equip him for it and Jude refused to entertain the idea that that was perhaps the problem. Such admissions bled pain from their hearts, and it was hardly worth the effort it took to deliver them.
Now, with Nathlia missing for so long, with heavy police suspicion in every corner, Jude knows he was the first name on every tongue for who might have been responsible for what happened with Nathlia, and he has no defense, no answer or explanation tucked away, not this time. To admit his defense would be to reveal weakness, to admit he had fallen for a girl and been blinded by her at all. There is no explanation, not for that and not for his role in it, or at least none he wishes to share. There has not yet been a conundrum Jude could not buy or bully his way out of. This will not be the first. He will not let it.
Pride comes before the fall, and Jude has always had more pride than sense.
* ( DANIELLE ROSE RUSSELL, 21, FEMALE, SHE/HER ) welcome back to the redwoods ( LEIGHTON PRICE ) i hope this time goes better for them than last. their friends like to call them the ( THE GUILTY ) but they don’t believe that they behave quite that way. they are know for being ( LOYAL ) and ( EMPATHETIC ) but I doubt that people will over look the fact that the ( TWENTY ONE YEAR OLD ) is also quite ( SECRETIVE ) and ( CYNICAL ). i hope they can survive until the morning light *
BIOGRAPHY :
A pair of optimistic eyes that believed life to be a storybook, a mother and a father that greeted her every day with a kiss on the forehead and who then drifted off to bed with their chorus of I love you’s echoing in her ears, adoration was abundant in the price’s household. the love her parents gave her helped instill an inherent kindness in Leighton, but what stood out most to her eager eyes was the all consuming flame that still burned between her mother and father. to have someone look at her the way her parents looked at one another was all she could ask for, but in the meantime, she’d give that open heart to anyone who asked for a piece of it. Outgoing and easygoing by nature, young Leighton attracted a large group of friends.Willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt and never casting a judgmental eye towards anyone who trusted her enough to confide in her, with a mouth that could outrun her thoughts, she’d greet strangers with a barrage of questions and exclamations as if they’d been friends all their lives.
Simply eager to meet new people and build new bridges, Leighton would seize the opportunity to meet a potential friend, oblivious to the way some rolled their eyes as her voice filled the room for a few minutes too long, or how she managed to find a way to make the questions she asked all come back to herself. prone to oversharing, Leighton was an open book to all she met — a slightly annoying book that occasionally needed to be interrupted, but a lovable one nonetheless.
She hadn’t come from a rich family, her parents inculcated in her the value of supporting herself through hard work. while Leighton gave school her best shot, she’d never been a natural scholar. numbers didn’t all come together right away, and her words never flew as eloquently as others’. Her aptitude was in people — not necessarily in understanding them, as her accidental tendency to make a conversation about herself didn’t lend itself well to empathy, but in putting a smile on their faces through her lighthearted banter and optimism. it was no wonder really how her friendly disposition rotated to the one of Nathlia. and it was much less of an enigma how these two ended up as friends. friends who brought each other their own brand of joy and called it the only kind of success they could ever imagine for themselves.
Willing to give anyone a chance, Leighton always found herself in the arms of the wrong person — the person who took her bluntness as coming on too strong and was scared away, the person whose partner was waiting after friday night’s game, or the person who only wanted her for the night. Overly sensitive, each heartbreak hit her far harder than it should’ve, leaving her choking back tears behind gym on more nights than she could count. she only wanted to find the one, but with each frog she weeded her way through, she’d begun to lose hope. and it was down to her friends to help her pick herself up. an emotional girl, it was only natural that the allure of perfect strangers who carefully shrouded their intentions, would call to her. back then, the intentions of others were an afterthought, nothing in comparison to the feelings and thoughts for the future that once went racing through Leighton’s head.
This contrasts heavily with her newfound cynicism. in the wake of Nathlia’s senseless death, the intentions of others are everything to her now. she holds the intentions of others higher than what she feels in her own heart, aware that had she done this sooner in life, she could have protected those who she loved from the devastation they’ve been forced to endure. It was just a misunderstanding, as they’ve never fought before. Not in the million years they’ve known each other. How Leighton wishes she could take back every horrible thing she spat out at Nathlia for no other reason than her own insecurity and cowardice. She didn’t mean to leave her on her own to get back to the cabin, but she wasn’t thinking straight that night. Leighton was heartbroken and the only thing that could make her feel anything remotely close to better was partying to forget. And she did, until the very next morning.
The police wanted to know everything, but it was so difficult to cooperate when she knew nothing. numb by her grief, and unable to fathom why anyone would want nath dead, she didn’t know how to help. She felt helpless. what’s even more, she felt guilty. a distraught Leighton blamed no one but herself, for leaving her friend alone in the woods. the group and family watched the girl’s guilt and anxiety consume her, because she’d failed her, failed her when she just wanted to mend things, in her bubbly and always humorous ways. but there’s no way she can make up for that. the more Leighton desperately tried to fit together the mismatched pieces, the more it stung; the panic attacks are the manisfetation of her guilt, telling her what she already knows: that all of this is fucked. and yet she perseveres, following the rabbit hole ever-deeper while trying to hide the toll it has taken on her.
The person she used to be is a mirror image of the girl who she sees everywhere she goes: soft-hearted, kind, loving in every sense of the word. It’s everything that Leighton can’t be now and she despises herself for it. her rude awakening into the ‘real world’ has forced her to grow conflicted with who she is. the optimism that had once burned bright within her had turned into a sour cynicism, her friendly nature replaced by an uneasiness and paranoia she’d never wanted for herself. Because Leighton is mourning more than just Nath’s loss. She has to mourn the death of herself. The plucky girl everyone once knew has ceased to exist; she was buried with Nathalia, replaced instead with the person she is today. a person whose guilt keeps her awake, manifesting itself in anxiety, self loathing, and sporadic panic attacks.
