“Marcus Abernathy is a name that has haunted the halls of Lovell University for more than three years. Even those of us who never had the chance to know him know his story. An incredibly talented sportsman, an intelligent student, a loyal friend, a brother to one and all. Marcus Abernathy held up the ideal of Lovell at every opportunity. When Marcus disappeared, we were all of us shaken, and for the last three years we have been lacking something intrinsic to ourselves because of his absence. All that we could hope was that someday, Marcus’ story would find some closure, that he would return home safe and heal the various wounds that had been left by his disappearance. While we did get the closure we all wanted, the end of this story is not as happy as we would have liked. The heart of each and every Lovell student goes out to Marcus today, and to his family. Those wishing to pay their respects to him, and share their prayers, are welcome to gather together in Front Square for a candle-lit vigil tonight, at 9pm.” – The Lovell University Times, an article about the disappearance and death of Marcus Abernathy, published the morning of January 23rd, 2018.
[ANONYMOUS COMMENTER: Yeah right. Like i’m going to pretend that M.A wasn’t a racist, homophobic asshole. We don’t have to start kissing his ass now just cause the dude is dead.] 4 likes. 2 replies.
[ANONYMOUS COMMENTER: I’ve got a good feeling that we’re gonna be getting all the closure we can stand very soon. Watch this space.] 2 likes. 1 reply.
EVENT 001: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES
LOCATION: FRONT SQUARE, LOVELL UNIVERSITY
DATE: JANUARY 23rd, 2018
The chill of January is still hanging heavy in the air, an aura of gloom and doom settled in a thick fog all around campus. Death came to call three days ago, and no one has quite managed to shake off the shock of it, the grim reminder that your mortal lives were fleeting and limited, and the implication that something malicious lived at Lovell three years ago, preying on your peers. It’s like a dementors kiss, sucking all the joy that may have been remaining from your Yuletide festivities. You need something to bring life back into your life, need a reason to find hope in the darkness.
When you need for something, Lovell provides. When Lovell loses something, it mourns and pays its respects with a fever unparalleled by anybody else. Part of you thinks its silly, but as you walk through campus in the freezing cold, you can start to feel the aura of community warming your bones. You’re all here, together, as a school, saying goodbye to someone who came before you, who left too soon. You’re not sure who’s idea this was, the Vigil. It’s a nice one, regardless of who dreamed it up. (“Jeez, if this is the treatment a dead dude from three years ago gets, remind me to kick the bucket before I graduate...”)
Front square is a sea of delicate candle flames. It’s not a sight you’ll ever forget, but then again, nothing about this night is exactly forgettable. You stand shoulder to shoulder with your fellow students, you listen with careful ears as your Dean of Students, detectives, and fellow students talk about Marcus. Melancholic, but inspiring a certain sense of community on a campus that can sometimes seem divided right down the middle. They say that they’ve commissioned a portrait of Marcus, to be hung on honour of his life. It’s almost smarmy, the idea. Marcus had lived at Lovell for a handful of years and from what you’ve heard and seen about him, he was no saint. But you suppose that when a man turns up dead on the cobbled stones of a campus, the administration is going to do everything possible to stay in the good books of the family.
A new kind of silence spreads over the crowd when they pull the cover off the tribute. Blue sheet pulled away to reveal the portrait and, in stark contrast, the red writing scrawled over its surface, a perfect mirror of what had been scrawled around the body when it had been discovered. “I KNOW WHO KILLED ME.”
THE DETAILS.
In game, this event takes place on the night of January the 23rd, one week after the discovery of Marcus’ remains.
The bulk of this night is a candlelight vigil for Marcus, with speeches by various people, including The Dean of Students, the Chief of the Lovell Police Department, and various other people who knew Marcus.
The climax of this event comes near the end of its run, when a memorial portrait of Marcus is unveiled and everyone sees that it has been defaced. The words I KNOW WHO KILLED ME are written on it with red paint.
A news blast that will follow this event will hold statements from the Dean of Students and the Chief of Police regarding the incident.
THE OOC INFORMATION.
There is no strict end date for playing this event. Don’t think of it like we’re penning you in to this handful of hours for the next week. Use these events as a way to kick off the roleplay, to get people talking and interacting. I would encourage your first couple of trends to be centred around the event, but feel free to deviate from it, as long as your characters keep the recent goings on in mind.
This event encompasses every character, regardless of society affiliation or graduated status. Every taken character in the roleplay would have either been in attendance or been in proximity of the event.
