( FLORENCE PUGH, CIS FEMALE, SHE/HER — oh gosh, sorry ANKE LIEBLEIN ! i didn't see you there ! y'know, i can't believe you're already 26 years old; seems like just yesterday you were tripping over yourself, or was that yesterday ? just kidding, just kidding ! anyway, i hear that you've been here since 1964, or so you think; congratulations ! at least that shining COMPOSED personality of yours hasn't changed a bit, especially that CHARMING + CLEVER, but SUSPICIOUS + EVASIVE way about you. look, i gotta get back to the group, but i'll see you around !
Hello hello! My name is Lou from gmt+1 and I’m beyond excited to join you! Let me tell you - my history-loving heart skipped a beat when I found this group! But anyway, under the cut you’ll find some info for my chem nerd child Anke! If you’d ever like to plot, feel free to leave a like or message me directly!
TW: a brief mention of wwii, secret police (Stasi), psychological manipulation, steroids & mentions of doping
Full Name: Anke Lieblein
Date of birth: 5th september, 1936
Age: 26
Pronouns: cis female, she/her
Date of dissapearance: 1964
Hometown: East Berlin, German Democratic Republic
Occupation: graduate student
Trait: composed
Languages spoken: German, English and Russian
Inspired by: Ulyana Khornyuk (Chernobyl miniseries), Valery Legasov (Chernobyl miniseries), Marie Curie (history), Emmy Noether (history), Creola Katherine Johnson (history), Athena (Greek mythology), Georg Dreyman (The lives of others)
The synopsis:
Anke was not born in Berlin. Rather, she was born in a quiet village far from the city, where she spent her formative years.
She only ever knew her mother. She suspects her father was conscripted for the war effort, and never returned.
A precarious reader, she'd often get so caught up in a book she'd completely ignore her surroundings.
After the war, she moved with her mother to what was soon to become East Berlin. Her mother was the one that encouraged her to expand her knowledge base. She taught her languages, introduced her to mathematics and the natural sciences. Her mother ignited the spark in her so to speak.
Years later, Anke graduates from the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin. With a bachelor's degree in chemistry, the star of her class pursues a master's degree.
And that's where the trouble begins.
In her last year, right as she was wrapping up her experiments for her master's thesis, her athlete friend requested that she examines a vitamin pill they were handed out after practice
So she does, and lo and behold – it's not a vitamin, but a steroid.
Anke asked for more of these supposed vitamins and examined them further. Around that point, she begins noticing items being misplaced, her alarm going off at unusual hours, and the vague feeling of being watched.
She continues, and the situation escalates – soon, her previous academic papers are being denied and remain unpublished. At this point, she knows she is being monitored.
But she must search for the truth, right? She's a scientist. It's what she does.
What follows is perhaps the nail in the coffin for her – she procures a textbook from the West and completely buries herself into her investigation.
On one such occasion, when Anke stays hunched over the test tubes she quickly disposes of, she is informed that a fire had started in her building and must stay overnight in a hotel.
Knowing full well that she will most likely get arrested in the morning, Anke rents a hotel room, thinking it is her last night as a free woman.
(In a way, it was.)
Now, she devotes herself to uncovering the inner workings of The Raven House. And while she searches for truth, she keeps her own experiences – the manipulation of the Stasi – under wraps
Her treasued item is her notebook. It houses her doodles, notes, and the occassional page torn out from the western textbook.
𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 — 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 ! hey there, i’m loey and welcome to my crib. you’re definitely going to want to click on the image above to view it in its full splendor because t*mblr is a bitch and reduces the quality. you’re going to be meeting the only man i’ll ever consider dating and who just wants to be back on his family farm with his family. he’s not much for words but he’s a great listener and take care of your plants when you’re away. if you want to get a piece of this lovely irishman, please leave a like and i’ll come sliding into your dms with a joke or a pun — whichever i find funnier at the time.
waves crashing up against boat . fog laying low on an abandoned meadow full of wildflowers . quiet serenity of walking through a field barefooted . lingering smell of gun smoke in the air . softs bahs of lambs . high-stressed situations being calmed down by a friend's smile . ——— oh gosh, sorry 𝐅𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐇 ! i didn't see you there ! y'know, i can't believe you're already TWENTY-SEVEN years old; seems like just yesterday you were tripping over yourself, or was that yesterday ? just kidding, just kidding ! anyway, i hear that you've been here since 1916, or so you think; congratulations ! at least that shining DECISIVE personality of yours hasn't changed a bit, especially that 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃-𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 + 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐓, but 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐄 + 𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂 way about you. look, i gotta get back to the group, but i'll see you around !
trigger warning(s): religious themes, death, death of a loved one, pregnancy, war, drowning.
a humble sheep farmer.
siblings: one older sister, three younger sisters, and two younger brothers.
met the love of his life when he was 19, imogen, and they were married when he was 21.
built a cottage on his father’s land for them and their future family.
shortly after their marriage, they were expecting their first child.
the pregnancy was really hard on imogen and the baby came early at almost 8 months.
imogen died during childbirth due to major loss of blood, but gave birth to a baby boy and named him callum - after his father.
when callum was two, he was being watched by fionn’s sister, shannon, when he traveled too far away and got lost.
they looked for him and soon found him near a river, completely drenched, and he became extremely sick.
tried to get him better but little callum passed away.
after two deaths of the people he loved the most, fionn pretty much swore off love and focused back into helping his father’s farm.
when world war 1 came around, he immediately volunteered to the british royal navy.
he was soon assigned to the hms queen mary.
on may 21, 1916, the queen mary was in the battle of jutland.
the queen mary was shot at repeatedly and split in two, causing multiple explosions.
somehow, fionn survived the explosions but fighting the ocean would be the next challenge.
only after a few minutes, he was starting to drown due to just fighting to keep his eyes open.
he was saved by hms laurel and was 1 out of 17 crewmen to survive the sinking of queen mary. in total, there were 1,266 crewmen who, sadly, didn't make it.
was stabilized on laurel and found out that he had broken multiple bones and had several lacerations.
laurel immediately docked at portsmouth, england and rushed the survivors they saved to the hospital.
fionn was in the hospital for about a month before moved to a newly-renovated hotel nearby to rest up more due to overcrowding.
this is when he was taken to raven house.
up above was just a very simple background outline, i’m working on writing up a more formal background and i’ll be posting fionn’s full application soon so then you can read the answers to the questions. i do have some statistics up on the blog, which will be linked here. you can always read that as well but it’s pretty simple. down below are some headcanons that i have for him.
born and raised in ireland until he volunteered for the war.
has a pretty large family, consisting of 4 sisters and 2 brothers.
left-handed originally, but was forced to write right-handed making him ambidextrous.
smells of cigarette smoke, vanilla, and the faint briny sea
he doesn’t talk much but when he does, it’s a thick irish accent.
his family farm was raising sheep and the occasional cow.
he loves fishing. even taught his younger siblings to fish.
he loves dogs, even had 3 of them back on the farm.
his hotel room is full of plants and spends most of his time at the rooftop garden.
language(s) spoken : english, scots, gujarati (ordered by fluency)
religion: southern baptist
faceclaim : naomi scott
— STORY !
tw: respiratory illnesses,
the first of six children born to a family of oklahoma farmers, bonnie took on the traditional role of the eldest daughter: caring for her siblings and bearing much of the emotional burden of her parents.
they occupied a strong position in their small rural community, her father owning a good amount of land and having generations of goodwill built up with other families
from an early age, bonnie learned to cook, sew, clean, care for the children, the animals, and the crops. she received a basic education - enough to read and write - before focusing entirely on the skills she would need to be a good farm-wife
while always well behaved and obedient, people often remarked that she kept her head in the clouds a little too much, spending her free time gazing dreamily out at nothing.
she was very good with animals and neighbors would frequently come by for assistance with animals ranging from livestock to pets to coyotes getting too cocky. it seemed like there wasn’t any problem she couldn’t solve: a tricky birthing, a particularly clever predator, a mite spreading through the cows
bonnie met the man she would one day plan to marry when they were both quite young. ernest was the nephew of another farmer who moved into the community after his parents died.
the courtship carried on for quite some time as bonnie’s father both found ernest to be a disappointing match and worried what he would do if bonnie married and left the farm and family.
it was about this time that other concerns began to arise, namely the crops that wouldn’t grow and the clouds of dust that began to choke the air. livestock began to die and farms became abandoned as the families could no longer afford to work it for the scraps they could harvest
bonnie’s family was one of the most stubborn, her father refusing to leave behind everything that his family had built up. her mother, who had been born to indian immigrants in california, was among those who insisted moving west was the only way to survive
finally, ernest volunteered to move out first and set up a home for them so they wouldn’t be starting from scratch. he gave his mother’s ring to bonnie as a promise and set out. in the months it took to hear from him again, the dust continued to grow worse. bonnie herself became quite sick, an affliction of the lungs she has never completely recovered from, until at last a letter arrived saying he had staked out some land in fresno
the whole family piled onto the jalopy with everything that it could hold and set out, leaving behind a farm that had belonged to the whitakers for generations
the journey was eye opening to bonnie who had only just begun recovering from her illness. even amidst the dust everything they passed on the road was a source of fascination and wonder. for a girl who had never traveled farther than the nearest town for a livestock auction, it was as if an entire world had been created and handed to her.
and so, when they finally arrived in fresno, she wasn’t so sure if she wanted to marry ernest after all. she loved him, of course. he was kind and good and loyal. but if there had been so much she had never known or seen, how could she know if she loved him for love or simply because he was the first one around? suddenly the idea of playing the role she’d trained for her whole life was terrifying rather than comforting, and she convinced her parents that they should stay in a hotel for a night, just to give her lungs a chance to recover.
the family stopped inside a hotel whose name she cannot remember for the life of her, and the next day she awoke alone in a far more luxurious setting.
although among the historically earlier guests, bonnie hasn’t been in the hotel for a particularly long time - only about six months as best she can tell. in that time she has seen a lot that she can’t explain. it is somehow a blessing and a curse: to learn more about a world she’s never seen but to be unable to go out and see it for herself
bonnie believes that she is being punished for lying to her family and hopes one day to find them in the hotel or find a way to communicate so that she can make amends.
she has recently stopped wearing ernest’s ring on her finger although she keeps it on her person at all times
— CONNECTIONS !
all of these are open to interpretation and discussion, these are meant for jumping off points ! i will probably add as i think of ideas
fair: bonnie’s only ever planned on loving one person her entire life, even as she doubts it in secret. but something about this person makes her feel as if she’s lighting up from the inside out.
wild blue yonder: okay listen this is just me wanting that bad boy/good girl plot, though certainly not exclusive to men. no fancy language here i just like that shit
that unwanted animal: as curious as she is, bonnie isn’t the type to jump into an investigation on her own, but she’s somehow gotten caught up in this person’s and she’s hanging on for dear life.
pruning shears: the richest person bonnie ever met in her entire life would have been desperately poor in comparison to this person. they are from an entirely separate world in a different way than everyone else and bonnie is simultaneously fascinated and confused
not yet/love run: bonnie has cared for people her entire life, and she isn’t going to let that stop now. this person needs somebody to step up for them and no matter how confusing this place can be, that is something she can understand and do
hello ! my name is ani and i am so excited to be here ! below the cut you can find some information on my son, luc ! if you are interested in plotting please feel free to like this post or simply shoot me a message !
— the OVERVIEW !
( WOLFGANG NOVOGRATZ, CIS MALE, HE/HIM — oh gosh, sorry LUC RIOUX ! i didn’t see you there ! y'know, i can’t believe you’re already 26 years old; seems like just yesterday you were tripping over yourself, or was that yesterday ? just kidding, just kidding ! anyway, i hear that you’ve been here since 1955, or so you think; congratulations ! at least that shining EXTROVERTED personality of yours hasn’t changed a bit, especially that OBSERVANT + CHARMING, but IMPULSIVE + FRAUDULENT way about you. look, i gotta get back to the group, but i’ll see you around !
tw: ww2, alcohol, smoking.
— the BASICS !
full name / luc rioux.
nickname / lu, lucky.
age / twenty-six (26).
year of disappearance / 1955.
date of birth / 7th april.
star sign / aries.
hometown / paris, france.
current location / raven house.
nationality / french.
gender / cis male.
pronouns / he/him.
sexual orientation / bisexual/biromantic.
occupation / art forger.
language(s) spoken / french & english.
faceclaim / wolfgang novogratz.
— the STORY !
there is meaning in all things… but are you paying attention?
tiny fingers curled around mother’s hand, green eyes glossed over in an attempt to take in the world but it is too much– there is too much for you to see. you hear whispers of difficult times, hushed tones floating through otherwise empty halls. mother and father try to hide their worry from you. they try their best to keep the world beyond arched windows hidden, though even a simple glance outside gives way to their delicately spun tales. you see figures rushing past, always in a hurry– never stopping to look at the beauty in this world. as the months grow colder, their features fall– worry encompasses all the shadows you have yet to know.
would you look at it?
the world as you know it crumbled, nothing is as it was. nothing will ever be as it was before, times are changing and so are you. your heart yearns for simpler days spent chasing your sister up and down flights of stairs, dancing in the rain and watching father unfold the morning paper without scowling at the newest headlines. this world is not for you– this world is rough, it is cold, it is void of what makes us human. you are yet too young to understand the gravity of it all, but you see the pain. you see the exhaustion in people’s faces, the darkness beneath growing with each moment that passes. you watch it reach out from the corners, you watch it divide those you know and care for. you don’t understand, but you are filled with sorrow for them. you roll up your sleeves, and help where you can.
you watch father leave for war, his head held high wearing his pride visibly on his chest. for a moment you fear you might never see him again, but mother is there to hold you, to carry your burden. you fear he might never return. and then a letter arrives, you only catch a glimpse of it before mother tears it from your grasp. you see her tears fall, and though you cannot know for sure– you know it must be about father. you pray for his safe return, but in his stead soldiers enter your home. they speak a foreign tongue, and though you do not understand– you are told to fear them. and most importantly, to keep your sister safe.
your life has changed so drastically. you now serve the soldiers who have taken over your home, you bring them their morning coffee and scramble away as fast as you can. every part of you is filled with rage, you wish for nothing more than things to return to what they were before. you yearn to see your mother’s smile, but these days even the light in her eyes seems to have vanished. and though you are young, you must grow up fast. you must protect your family at all costs, but even so you cannot bear to bite your tongue and hold in your obvious distaste for these men. your sister tries to keep you in check, but you cannot help spitting in their cup, you cannot help calling them names, you cannot help making them feel unwanted in your home. and whilst you feel good in the moment, the punishment is always severe. though, in your eyes your little acts of rebellion are worth every moment of them. even if you tried, you could not sit quietly by.
the tides are changing…
the times are changing yet again, the men who occupy your home are no longer composed. you can see the terror in their eyes, and it brings you joy. they become crueler, and that fills your heart with hope– for even they know that their time would come to an end soon. there are whispers of forces liberating your country– and you hope it to be true.
c’est la vie…
you watch as horrid flags are taken down, and your own are raised once more. the city you call home is far from glory, it is in shutt and ashes. the very foundations collapsed under the turmoil of the war. and yet, everywhere you turn you see life return to empty shells. and with such a return, so does your father. but he is a changed man. he is not the sweet and tender man you remember him to be. his gaze has hardened, blue eyes turned cold as steel. you cannot find your way home to him, for his heart is shut with the despair of what he has lived.
you try so hard, but you are always met with disappointment.
you have a pale memory of that time, but why?
you are old enough to sit at the table, you are old enough for your voice to be heard. and yet, in your father’s eyes you are but a child. he pushes you aside, in his eyes you are worth nothing. and you have to wonder why is it that you are so wrong for this world? but you never learn the answer beyond never being good enough in his eyes. and so, you stop trying. instead, you follow your heart.
though the war is over, its remnants loom over your shoulders. you cannot unsee the things that have come to pass. the graveyards filled with bodies– old and young alike. the city is a ghost town, lights flickering as you walk past. when you wake in the middle of the night, covered in a layer of sweat, all you can think of is those horrid soldiers leaning back on your living room chairs, their dirty boots placed on the table. all you can remember is your mother running through the house fulfilling their every demand and you are angry. you are angry at the world for being so disappointing.
setting fire to our insides for fun, to distract our hearts from ever missing them…
*tw alcohol*
for a while, you think, it would be best to feel numb. you want to forget– you want to bury the terrors you have witnessed. but you cannot seem to forget. and so you turn to the bottle, you hope that maybe the answer lies at the bottom of your glass. but there is none to be found, instead, you watch the world go blurry. and you decide, you have seen enough– as well as far too little. you want to enjoy your life. you want to dream. you want to escape into different worlds all together.
*tw end*
art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self…
your sister urges you to follow your dreams. she urges you to showcase your talents. and for a moment you believe her. you believe in yourself. regardless of what your father might think, you enroll in art school. you study the grand artists of your time, but you will never measure up to them. and once more you are met with the word you despise the most: disappointment. though you see your professor’s lips moving, you hear your father’s voice. and once more you run– you run from responsibility. but you are not willing to give up the life you love. and so, you turn elsewhere for guidance.
people leave pieces of their soul in their art…
you look to the masters for guidance, you know their work– and you can paint fairly well. you may not know yourself, but you search for pieces of yourself in their art. brush on paper, you begin to duplicate their works. after the turmoil of the war, art is lost and scattered and you abuse this. you sell your work for theirs, forgeries none the less– but good ones.
suddenly you have more money than you know what to do with. and you spend it foolishly. you spoil your mother, your sister and most importantly yourself. finally you have the means to do as you please, and so you do. you treat life as though it were a game, an illusion. you aren’t sure what is real and what is not– for you haven fallen under a spell, intoxication. but one thing remains certain: you are in for a wild ride.
— the THE FACTS !
luc was born and raised in paris, france.
his family was well off, but like many others they still struggled with the economic demise prior to ww2.
during the war, his father participated in the battle of france, but never returned home. like many others he was taken as a prisoner of war. leaving his mother to take care of luc and his little sister.
during the war, their home was occupied by german soldiers and they were forced to serve them. he hated this more than anything in the world, and acted out despite severe punishments. he was never one to sit by quietly.
during this time, his mother helped smuggle people out of the country and while luc was but a child, he aided her as best he could.
after france was liberated and his father returned home nothing would ever return to as it was in the time before. his father was a changed man from his time spent as a prisoner of war. he was cold, and distant. luc did not know how to deal with him, nor did his father know how to deal with luc.
he went on to study art and art history at university. but, there too he was met with disappointment. his professors did not agree with his style of work and eventually luc gave up and dropped out. his father, ever the more disappointed in him threatened to cut him off.
luc is a very proud young man, and so he essentially dared his father to cut him off. which the man then did. forcing luc to try and make ends meet himself.
luc was used to luxuries in his home, and he was not willing to give up such a life. so he turned to the other side of the law. he began forging famous paintings that had gone missing during the war. selling his own work as those of renowned painters. with the money he lived a lavish lifestyle.
he worked hard in this illicit career, but he partied even harder.
the young man had been dabbling in matters on the opposite side of the law, fraudulent behaviour on the verge of being uncovered. his sister had been so kind to pass him a note at breakfast, it hadn’t been signed by name though the message was threatening: ‘ we know what you are doing, it’s only a matter of time until we can link you to the crime. ‘ alas, he sought out a space, in which he could go about his work undisturbed.
checking in under a false name, jacques de villiers, the young man patted himself on the shoulder in the belief that this would solve all his problems. he would be able to use his hotel room to forge artwork, all evidence placed in the hands of the hotel, whereas at his home there would be none to be found when the police came knocking.
— the RAVEN HOUSE !
the year was 1955.
the young man decided to check into a hotel, tucked away in the heart of paris. it was far from modest, but truth be told he wouldn’t settle for less. luc had always been drawn to the luxurious aspects of life: a glass of champagne in the morning, silken sheets hugging his body, and leaning out the window to smoke his first cigarette of the day with a perfect view of champ de mars.
perhaps he had indulged in too many pleasures the night before, for when he pushed the door to his room open he was greeted by an entirely different interior. it was beautiful nonetheless, crystal chandeliers and ornate decorations. and yet, something was off. he caught glances of people passing by, each dressed in a manner he could not recognize to belong to his time. with a smile plastered on his lips, the young man left to discover the place he found himself in only to become aware of the fact that he now resided in the raven house.
— the PERSONALITY !
his unpredictability made him a menace to society, or better said the social circles his family operated in. he was everything but poised and calm, he had a certain spark in his eyes: the desire to live life to its fullest. luc was charming at his root, equipped with honey lips and a serpent’s tongue. though he didn’t necessarily say the right thing at the right time, he had a way of getting away with it. perhaps it was his sociability, or the way he would make the person he was speaking with feel as though they were the only one in the world. that was until his attention drifted elsewhere, which it always did. ever with a drink or cigarette in hand, he was the life of the party, one debacle after the other– a sight to behold, but never to own. he came and went as he pleased, making himself at home in any environment that he deemed acceptable. in his core, he is an extrovert– though a rather chaotic one.
— the HEADCANONS !
001. his most treasured item: it was a gift from father to son, the one object he owns that symbolizes his father’s acceptance. gifted to him upon his birthday, it came with the words, “now you are a man.” it was the only moment his father seemed to stand eye to eye with luc, as though they were equals. but this is not why the object means so much to him, no– he couldn’t care less about that man. he holds it dear for the words so delicately scratched onto the bottom by his sister, “l’artiste est semblable au prince des nuées “ (the artist is alike the prince of the clouds). the object is none other than a silver lighter with his initials engraved onto the center of it, always found in the comfort of his pocket.
002. when luc first entered the raven house he was content simply enjoying every day that passed without responsibility. however, when it dawned on him that he would never be able to see his family or friends again he became obsessed with remembering their likeness. he tried his best to draw images of those close to his heart, but with each day that passed he came to realize that those memories were lost. there are a vast amount of ripped up images, or unfinished pictures scattered around his room that he furiously scribbled over in frustration. for he was only ever able to draw one person from his past life: his father. the look of disappointment ingrained in his mind for all of time to come. though, the worst part of it all was that he couldn’t manage to create a single image of his sister, who he was really close to. he felt so guilty that he could not remember the details of her features beyond the green eyes they shared– and even then he was unsure if he remembered her eyes or if he was simply drawing his own.
003. after his mysterious disappearance, the note was discovered by his family. his story quickly became a rather large investigation, but as no trace of him was found his family grew impatient with the investigation and offered up a rather large reward for any news on their lost son. the case found the tabloids, the newspapers, and general gossip quite quickly. his story influenced the character « charles bonnet » in the movie “how to steal a million” years later.
004. when luc first entered the raven house he was only able to speak french, but one of the other guests was so kind as to teach him english. he still struggles with the pronunciation of words to this day, but he tries his best. it doesn’t exactly bother him either that his mothertongue often slips through when speaking in this foreign tongue, for he never cared much to perfect this skill-- he only wanted to be able to communicate. (this could be a possible plot ??? one of the other guests that teaches him english !!! )
( JACOB ELORDI, CIS MAN, HE / HIM — oh gosh, sorry THOMAS “TOMMY” BARNETT ! i didn't see you there ! y'know, i can't believe you're already TWENTY FIVE years old; seems like just yesterday you were tripping over yourself, or was that yesterday ? just kidding, just kidding ! anyway, i hear that you've been here since 1978, or so you think; congratulations ! at least that shining OBLIGING personality of yours hasn't changed a bit, especially that LOYAL + AMICABLE, but FOOLISH + RESTLESS way about you. look, i gotta get back to the group, but i'll see you around !
hello, hello! my name is rion, though at this point you might know be better as admin jay on the main! i... i just need you guys to know how absolutely excited i am that you’re all here. lilah will tell you that basically every time we got an app she had to listen to me say holy shit again. we also sent each other the paul rudd ‘ hey, look at us ’ video a lot. it just really means the world to us that you guys took the time to join this and we hope you enjoy what we have planned. so yeah! mush out of the way, let me introduce you to the sweet but easily lead astray, tommy barnett.
full name : thomas barnett
age upon check in : twenty five
gender & pronouns : cis man & he / him
trait : obliging
personality : loyal, amicable, foolish, restless
aesthetic : survival came thanks to quick hands, the ability to stay upright despite the strikes, and an uncanny ability to find friends in high places ( just like you were taught ) — let them pull you up, believe that’s what they’re doing, and repay that kindness with service. a well worn deck of cards dictates the shape of your back pocket, the faces of queens and jacks rubbed soft to the touch by your left thumb. brother was a soldier, you were conscripted to a different brotherhood, orange prescription bottles standing at attention, waiting to be carried off by you. marked body, both for lust and anger. low expectations allow one to slip through life unnoticed ; that’s an asset, not a concern. just keep your mouth shut, kid, your comforts come at a certain price.
thomas barnett was the younger of two sons born to eliza and charles barnett, a dysfunctional couple living just above the poverty line. tommy grew up learning how to avoid their often explosive arguments, which often spilled onto those around them ( skills include: knowing which way you could walk pass the kitchen without being noticed, which window opened without squeaking, which headphones were worth saving up for because they actually blocked sound like they claimed ). thankfully, tommy was not alone in this, he had james: an older brother who faithfully looked after him in ways their parents never did. without james, it’s unclear where tommy would be now.
he was never seen as the smartest child. liked by teachers when he was young for being kind at heart, but it took him more time than others to grasp concepts they were teaching. he struggled to pay attention, and as he grew older kind didn’t seem to be enough anymore when compared against his struggles to focus or retain. he skidded by in school, passing by the skin of his teeth, his parents far too preoccupied with the bills they couldn’t pay and their anger with each other to notice how their younger son was struggling. tommy didn’t care enough to seek out help on his own, frustrated with the way academic pursuits made him feel, and while james was doing his best, there was only so much he could do.
tommy was fifteen when james was conscripted, and suddenly he was on his own. that buffer between him and his parents was in one of the carolinas, attending basic, and tommy was forced to bare the brunt of their anger that spilled over. they used him as a tool to wound each other, no wonder he’s failing, he’s your son, but tommy was the one who ended up wearing most of the injuries. yet, it would not be the last time would become a weapon for someone else.
he would find new excuses to spend time away from the small house that had no place to hide, mostly spending time at various friends’ houses, but when a teenage boy is seeking to find things to do it is often that he’ll find himself with new and exciting bad habits. he started smoking, getting into fights when there was nothing else to do, and eventually helping a boy named davey deal drugs.
david, davey to tommy — though he accepted the nickname from no one else, was the other constant in tommy’s life besides james. they met in the third grade and davey was seemingly everything tommy wasn’t. people thought he was clever, he didn’t worry about school, and as far as tommy could tell, davey was absolutely loaded. despite the differences, they were fast friends, and tommy became extremely loyal to the other boy over the years. that’s why, when davey got involved in some things that were less than legal, tommy found himself involved as well.
for all the cleverness davey was touted to have, the scheme was rather simplistic. maybe that was the genius of it though. davey’s father was a doctor, a psychiatrist specifically, and apparently it was easy enough to pull rx pads from the desk within their home. then davey would fill them out in the way he wanted to, forge his father’s signature, and take the scripts to various out of town pharmacies to get them filled. then he, with the help of tommy, could sell them at a premium.
tommy was never certain why davey did it, but for tommy it was about achieving a bit of freedom, independence. the deal was never something that fits who he was at heart, especially with some of the more questionable things davey did, but he tried not to think about that. his bartending job was something that left him living paycheck to paycheck, but this ... well, it let him move out of his parent’s place, and it’s the first time he’s just had cash on hand without having to think about it. he wouldn’t like to admit it, but there’s also something about the excitement, the way it scratches that restless itch of his, that ( in addition to his loyalty to davey ) kept him in the game.
WHERE & WHEN DID YOU CHECK IN ?
when tommy opened the door to his room the next morning to find the raven house, he knew instantly something had changed. it wasn’t hard to figure out considering he had checked into a motel 6 off of i - 95 the night before. sure, it had been a late night and he hadn’t gotten much sleep, but when you’re expecting to step out onto a concrete walkway ( red metal railing in front of you, a half empty parking lot that hosts an above ground pool that is closed for the season ) and are instead greeted by a dark hallway and someone wearing what must be a halloween costume, it doesn’t take a genius to tell that something has changed. which is good, considering no one has ever accused thomas barnett of being a genius. there were plenty of other things people called him, and he tried to not let those things bother him.
but it was 1978, and no one dressed like that anymore. at least ... he didn’t think anyone did.
this wasn’t even supposed to be a trip. just a night drive; windows down in his car and recorded cassettes with his favorite songs playing at top volume. it wasn’t his fault he’d lost track of time and ended up further from home than he’d planned. now he was ... here, wherever here was. the raven house didn’t look like anything he’d ever seen before. the luxury is almost off putting to he who is far more comfortable in dive bars and parties in unfinished basements. it reminded him of davey’s house, almost, a place that ( despite the years that they had been friends ) tommy never felt like he belonged inside of.
except, this was even nicer than that.
WHAT WENT WRONG ?
tw. drugs / drug dealing
a flat tire.
which would have been fine. he knew how to change a flat tire. so technically, what had gone wrong was that he also got a flat tire three months before, and he’d never replaced the spare.
tommy managed to pull the car over, and upon discovering this and checking the time on the car radio, he decided there was nothing he could do tonight. a neon vacancy sign was visible from where he was standing, and he was sure they had a payphone he could use in the morning, call a friend or call a tow truck. it would be fine to leave the car here until then, right? of course it would be.
as it turned out, it wouldn’t really matter.
there was a bag in the trunk, something inspired both by his occupation ( occupation? side gig, to supplement bartending, to help out his friend... it was just pills ) and advice from his older brother. james had seen some shit — or, that’s how tommy would explain it. james had never given him any of the specifics, so he had none to pass on. inside the bag were the essentials, certainly everything he’d need for a one night stay at a motel. could you even call it one night if it was already past midnight?
WHY WERE YOU BROUGHT HERE ?
it might be easy to pin tommy as the extraverted type, but the truth is under a somewhat loud exterior, there’s a kind heart: someone who’s loyal and easy going and could certainly be considered obliging. that’s the trait that brought him to the raven house, and if you think about it for even just a moment, it’s not hard to see why. an individual who’s never a leader, always the support, and doesn’t mind it. a good listener, someone who will do anything for those he cares for, or who’s happy just to play the music a little louder and sing along with you if that’s what you need. the fights he used to get into were just something to do, to assuage the restles spirit that needs to stay occupied, of something for a friend wronged ( though this definition has become somewhat muddled ), but truthfully he’s good natured at his core. he knows what it is like to receive help when you need it, and he’ll return that favor to the world any day.
WHICH ITEM IN YOUR POSSESSION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ?
it’s just a deck of cards. it’s just a deck of cards except it was a birthday present from james. it’s just a deck of cards but they’ve been worn soft to the touch by the repeated pressure of being rubbed between his thumb and fingers. he used to do card tricks with them, but now he’s worried they’ll tear. a new deck was picked up in the lobby convenience store, but the old deck is important, even if it is no longer useful.
... WAS THERE ANYTHING ELSE ?
can be goaded into almost anything with the phrase ‘ i dare you. ’
is the guy who suggests that everyone play the black betty game at parties, and feels clever when he explains it.
will kick your ass at a game of quarters
was an obnoxious car signer. his ability is average, the issue lies in his inability to truly focus on driving at the same time.
now an obnoxious hotel shower singer. my apologies to whoever has the room next to him.
to compound that, he tends to keep strange hours. time isn’t real here, but his body is still on the schedule of his bartending job and mostly nocturnal, if such a thing is possible here.
has argued with the empty other side of the bar over how a drink is made.
hates the feeling of being cooped up here, more than he dislikes the issue of time. he used to drive a lot and has replaced that by wandering the floors of the hotel.
hello everyone, please meet BREE MACINDOE. i have her app here, a stats page here, and a pinterest board ( that was hastily thrown together and will be added to ) here ! i’m working on reading everyone’s intros and would love to plot with y’all so if you’d like, please like this post or the one one discord and i will come crawling for the plots ( and i have a page for that too, here ! )
[zooey deschanel, cisfemale, she/her] [MARLEE RHODES] has been seen around Riverton lately. They are [FORTY] and work as a/an [NURSE]. One of their favorite activities is [SPENDING THE DAY WITH HER CHILDREN]. Some people say that they are [CARING], but others say they are [NAIVE]. How are they enjoying their stay in Riverton?
tw; death, alcohol
Marlee grew up in an average household. Her parents were middle class, she had two sisters, and she had a dog and a cat. Nothing about her life was out of the ordinary until her parents divorced when she was 13. The divorce was messy, and she hasn’t really talked to her dad much since.
It was then that Marlee vowed that her first marriage would be her one and only, and it would never end in divorce. Her family would never be broken, ever.
Marlee went to RACC and became a registered nurse. She got her first job at the hospital as a labor & delivery nurse, and she hasn’t moved since.
She met her husband when they were in high school, and they were high school sweethearts that loved each other dearly. They had two children, a cat, and a dog together, and Marlee’s complete family stayed that way.
One night after the kids were gone for college, Marlee waited for her husband to come home from work, and instead policemen showed up on her doorstep. Marlee’s husband Jake was killed in a car accident after he had been hit by a drunk driver.
She was distraught, of course. Her one true love had died, and she was left a widow before she was 40.
It’s been about 6 months since the accident, and she has slowly been getting herself back into her normal routine, her usual peppy self.
[Min Yoongi, demimale, they/them] [WYNTER “WYN” CALDWELL] has been seen around Riverton lately. They are [TWENTY-SIX] and work as a/an [APP DEVELOPER ]. One of their favorite activities is [KNITTING]. Some people say that they are [CREATIVE], but others say they are [CLOSED OFF]. How are they enjoying their stay in Riverton? (Laura, 22,cst,she/they)
Mini Bio
Wynter or Wyn for short wasn't always known by that. That was the name they were given when they were adopted at 2 years old. Wyn doesn't remember life in Korea they were two when they were brought to the USA (to Riverton which they only moved away from in college but then came back too) . All they know is that their bio family died in a train crash and they were lucky that they were with a family friend for the day. Luckily, Wyn wasn't in the orphanage long before they were adopted by their dads. Their dads were the ones that renamed them Wynter. Growing up Wyn had everything they needed. They had loving parents and lived in a high middle class home. Didn't need to worry about much but when they started school things changed. Wyn was bullied a lot for who they are. Bullied for having two dads, bullied for not being "real boy". They weren't into sports and other "boy" activities and that made them a target. A target for hate. Which in turn has made Wyn keep people at a distance. They'd rather get to know someone fully before letting them in. They are an introvert because of bullying but it wasn't all bad. Thanks to being alone a lot during middle school and high school only really have three friends they worked hard in school. They taught themselves code. They worked hard on grades and taught themselves how to knit and cross stitch and they read a lot. They are very book smart and they got into MIT. So while being bullied did hurt them a lot and has damaged them it also made them grow. Now they work at a tech start up and help develop apps and patch code (they will hide away from the world for days to do their work). Even though they are extremely book smart they aren't so good at common sense things. Maybe cause they closed themselves off and hide away from a while but whatever it is. Common sense isn't common for them. They are the worst driver and they can't cook for the life of them. It's suspiring they've lasted 26 years. It wasn't until after high school that they felt comfortable and coming out as non-binary (demiboy). They waited until they were away from their bullies to start playing around with their gender. Now at 26 they are comfortable and being themselves more. Even on days where their dressed in clothes that are considered to be just for males they always have make up on. Somedays they wear a skirt. They are just themselves and if someone makes them feel bad about it (which does still happen even as an adult) they just try to breath and try not to fall more into themselves. With people they don't know they will be more quiet but once they know you they are silly and fun and will probably offer to do your make up.
Wanted connections
Family connections (Sister, cousin, heck even their dads)
Someone who use to bully them in high school. (maybe they still do??)
A roommate (let’s face it if Wyn lived alone they’d be dead)
An Ex ( we can decide if they ended on good terms or not)
A childhood friend (growing up they didn’t have many friends. They stayed to themselves a lot because of bullies but this would have been the one person they could count on)
One sided crush (either on Wyn’s part or on the other persons)
