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Post by Dramaya M. Murasaki on Aug 16, 2007 23:18:17 GMT
Huzzah! Okay, so this post will be more of setting up the scene, rather than involving the characters. I was originally going to include that, but I think it's best that everybody knows what they're up against first. So, without further ado... ----- In every town, there’s someplace that everybody avoids. The Maverick Mansion is no exception. It was reputed to be the most haunted building in town, and not even the bravest of people dared to approach it. The home has been empty for nearly half a century, ever since the Maverick family of four were murdered, and the killer himself added to their number by committing suicide there. Only one family, dubious of the rumors of it being haunted, moved in after the incident. Yet, only a month later, they hastily moved out, and were never seen in the town again. As no one would buy the property, it was finally decided that it would be demolished, and the land used for apartments. However, when construction workers had begun to work on the mansion, the most unexplainable of things began to happen. Voices with no traceable source would speak out of nowhere. Construction machines would fail to work. There were even reports of people being shoved by an unseen force. At last, all hope of building on the property was lost, and the place was abandoned for good. Ever since then, it has remained virtually untouched. Inside the black iron fencing, the house has slowly become decayed and dilapidated. The gardens are choked with weeds, the lawns are overgrown, the statues have chipped away, and yet no one comes to tend to it. Even strangers in the town automatically cross to the other side of the street, as though repelled by an invisible force. Only those foolish enough dare to approach it. ----- All righty, I hope that's all right with everyone. Any objections or suggestions, please speak out.
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Post by Azul Eyes on Aug 17, 2007 1:03:02 GMT
When do we start?
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Post by Dramaya M. Murasaki on Aug 17, 2007 1:11:57 GMT
You can start now, if you want. I just wanted to set up the backstory behind the mansion and stuff like that, and I was thinking we can simply go from there. However, I can add more if that's not enough to work off of.
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Erissa
SOLDIER Third Class
Pretty boys are FTW.
Posts: 630
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Post by Erissa on Aug 17, 2007 8:05:11 GMT
Nice job starting off Dramaya, thank you. Heh maybe I'll self-insert too later. I'm not very familiar with the horror genre besides watching a few movies and I'm not really a writer either, so here goes nothing...Thousands of miles away, in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris seventeen year old Josephine was staring at a painting up for exhibition. The painting showed a corridor of a sinister looking house; five paintings adorned the wall on its right side, but what was portrayed in those paintings lay hidden by the shadows. Oh look, a haunted mansion, how original! she thought, rolling her eyes as she moved away to view the other paintings. Normally the summer holidays would be spend with her group of friends back home, but this year her father had asked her to accompany him to Paris for a few days. "For pleasure," he had said to the customs officer, but Josephine did not consider this anything near pleasurable. She stopped in front of a painting of a large sunflower; the price tag at the bottom said twenty-three thousand euros. Ridiculous! An amateur in an art class can paint this! Her father had spent about an hour here and she had had enough and was about to suggest that they check out the restaurant near the museum and get some dinner when the painting of the haunted mansion caught her eye again. There was now a girl in the corridor, a girl with short, thick, brown curls very much like her own, and she looked terrified. Was she seeing things? Could that be it? No! She was sure of it! The corridor was empty just a few moments ago and she had thought what an insipid painting of a haunted house it was. She read the title at the bottom, “House of Maverick” it said. As if on cue her father decided to appear at that precise moment. “I’ve purchased two paintings to lighten up our home Josy dear, have you got anything you’d like for yourself?” “Yes daddy, I think I have,” she said, trying to smile enthusiastically, even though a chill was running up her spine.
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Post by Dramaya M. Murasaki on Aug 17, 2007 15:16:02 GMT
Thank you. Don't worry, I don't much about the horror genre either but it'll be so much fun to try!, except for a few movies, and I'm scared by horror films anyway. Anyway, that post of yours was great. Meanwhile, all the back in the town of Brentford [where the Maverick Mansion is], Dramaya was lying on her stomach on her bed, continuing to write a story in a notebook that she was never seen without. Every now and then she would glance up, pondering about what to write next, though it should be noted her eyes always averted the window. For, out that window, was a clear view of the sinister Maverick Mansion. Dramaya was one of those unfortunate few who happened to live on the same street, Richmond Wood, as the infamous mansion. More unfortunately, she lived right next door, and she had been stuck with the view of the mansion that had terrified her ever since her family had bought this house. Everyone but her was the skeptic type, and every time she had tried to dissuade them from buying this place, they would laugh and say she was being silly. No one would have taken her seriously anyways, as she had only been a child at the time. Nearly a decade had passed since then, and over that time her fear of the house had dwindled. However, some degree of it had always remained with her throughout all those years, and Dramaya wondered if she would really ever outgrow it. It had seemed every time she would pass these feelings off as part of her imagination, something else would arise and stimulate the fear all over again. Such as last week, when she had spotted something in a window that wasn't there anymore upon glancing back. So, maybe she did have a right to be afraid of that place. ------ Hey, maybe all of our characters can know each other in some way, like they're all in this group of friends that Josephine mentioned. Unless, people have other things in mind, of course...
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Post by Captain Wee on Aug 17, 2007 17:40:07 GMT
Nicholas was walking on Richmond Wood, street of the infamous mansion. Ever since he moved to Brentford two years ago, he wanted to explore the Maverick Mansion. He didn't share the fear of the townspeople. In fact, he was know around town as the Mansion Stalker, since he could be found most of the time in front of the mansion just looking at it.
Nicholas smiled. He was amused by his nickname and took some pride in it. It showed he was the only one not paralyzed by fear of the mansion. Of course, even before his family moved to Brentford, he was always fascinated by the supernatural. Ever since he was a kid, he absorbed books on UFOs, Bigfoot, ghosts, anything he could get his hands on.
Tearing his eyes away reluctantly, Nicholas continued on his way home along Richmond Wood.
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Post by Azul Eyes on Aug 17, 2007 21:07:12 GMT
"DRRRRAMMMMA!" The excitable brunette pounded on Dramaya's door. "Open up! It's Steph. Are you here?"
The blue-eyed girl slumped on her friend's doorstep and stared at the mansion next door. She wasn't particularly fond of the 'paranormal' and coming over to Dramaya's (or Drama, as Steph called her) house was kinda creepy sometimes.
The teenager happened to be more intelligent then she acted most of the time, and she wasn't a hundred percent sure of the rumors surrounding the abandoned property. Steph certainly wasn't one to take a risk though.
"Come on, Drama! Open up!" Steph said, nervousness creeping into her voice.
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Post by Dramaya M. Murasaki on Aug 17, 2007 22:21:28 GMT
Drama, how cute. *grins*
-----
Dramaya was brought abruptly out of her musings by the sudden pounding on her front door, and an excited, familiar voice calling out. With a grin, she jumped up from her bed and dashed down the staircase, eager to greet her friend. With the reputed nature of the house next door, she was often glad to have an invitation out of her house, just to get away from the creepy sensations for a while. However, she did like it whenever her friends did want to come over to her place, as it truly meant their dedication to her. They often weren't keen to come over, and Dramaya didn't blame them for that.
As she trotted through the family room, she paused only for a second to pet her cat that lounged on a chair. Yet, as she had stopped there, she happened to glance up, through the window that looked onto the Maverick Mansion. And there, she froze at what she saw. Although it was too far away to make out clearly, she could see something-- or someone-- through the overgrown hedges. She didn't have a chance to study it further, though, as she blinked, and it was distinctly gone. Still, she remained frozen in place, her friend momentarily forgotten until her voice cried out again.
"Come on, Drama! Open up!"
"Ah, coming!" she called back, and hastily wrenched herself away to answer the door. Don't fret, Dramaya. It was just your imagination. Just your imagination...
"Hey, Steph!" Dramaya greeted her cheerfully, after she had opened the front door to reveal Steph seated on the doorstep. "Sorry if I made you wait. I was up in my room."
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Post by Azul Eyes on Aug 18, 2007 3:01:22 GMT
I'm glad you like it. I thought so too.
---
"About time!" Steph said with a sigh. "I was starting to get seriously creeped out. There's something weird about that house today."
At Dramaya's look, she rolled her eyes. "Weirder than normal. C'mon, let's go to the mall and window-shop. And go on boy-watch," she added as an afterthought. "Maybe some of the others will be there. I'll even buy you a smoothie!"
Without waiting for a reply, Steph grabbed Drama's arm and started dragging her down the street.
She grinned at her friend, "It's times like these I wish my parents would let me get my license. Anyway, what's up with you?"
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Post by Dramaya M. Murasaki on Aug 18, 2007 4:44:36 GMT
Dramaya smiled back. "Not much, really. I'm glad you came and fetched me. The Maverick place... really has been a bit more creepy lately."
At that, she glanced back towards the mansion, partially wondering if another fleeting apparition would appear again. Gratefully, that didn't happen, although she hadn't looked away before spotting the boy standing in front of the wrought-iron gates of the Maverick Mansion.
Though she had never exactly met or spoken to him before, he was no stranger to her from all the times she had seen him standing there, just gazing at the place, for the past two years. It wasn't long before he had been dubbed as the 'Maverick Stalker', and it was only by that name that she knew him. Personally, she wasn't quite keen on meeting him: anyone who showed that much interest in the Maverick mansion creeped her out as much as the house did.
Averting her gaze from the house and him as he began walking down the street, Dramaya stretched her arms toward the sky with a bit of a sigh. "Yeah, getting a license would be extremely nice. But, a bit of exercise wouldn't do any harm." She smiled again, happy to have an opportunity to be away from this place.
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Post by Captain Wee on Aug 18, 2007 8:01:12 GMT
Nicholas approached his home before he had a horrifying revelation.
His sister Lisa was back from college.
Not that he didn't love his sister, just that she was the type of person that he could only take in small doses. Very small doses. As he entered the house, he hoped that she was out shopping or tanning.
"Hey little brother." Her sweet voice called from the kitchen. Nick hung his head. Great, now I'm going to end up doing some girly crap with her.
"Hey sis," He replied weakly. "What's up?"
"Well, I'm thinking of going shopping at the mall. Wanna come?" Nicholas cringed a little.
"Yeah, I'd rather use sandpaper to wipe my butt. I'm going upstairs now."
Lisa came out of the kitchen and put her hands on her hips. "Oh really now? Too bad, since I just got this book on the crystal skulls and I was thinking about giving it to you but since you can't do one little favor for your big sister I guess I'll have to return it..."
"Dammit," Nicholas muttered. After weighing the options carefully he had only one question for his sister.
"Your car or mine?"
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Post by ladyvaltaya on Aug 18, 2007 8:16:11 GMT
April shivered, pulling her jacket more tightly around her shoulders as she walked up Richmond Wood street. Her journey would take her right past the gates of the abandoned mansion.
She hated this whole nieghborhood, actually. With all the grand old houses and the dense shade trees it was almost like living in the middle of the woods. Only the many gated driveways, each spaced hundreds of feet apart, alerted her the distance she'd gone.
She shifted her backpack to her other shoulder and sighed. If she weren't so tired she would've been angry about being forced to walk home. The driver was busy taking her parents to the airport and a mixup from him to the butler left her stranded at school. She'd been forced to take the bus for the first time in her life, but even that had left her almost a mile from the house her parents had settled in. The bus didn't venture this far up Richmond Wood.
A shadow moved to her left and April squeaked as she thought she saw a figure standing outside the Maverick gate. When she looked again, she realized it was just a newspaper stuck to the wrought iron gate.
"That place gives me the creeps. A lot of these old houses do, but that one- it's is the worst..."
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Erissa
SOLDIER Third Class
Pretty boys are FTW.
Posts: 630
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Post by Erissa on Aug 18, 2007 12:00:44 GMT
Thanks Dramaya. Heh I guess our characters won't start off as friends. --------- She gazed at it adoringly, feeling the paint with her fingers, sometimes muttering to it as though it could hear and understand her. It’s been two days since her return from Paris and she had barely left her room ever since. There had been no further change in the painting, but there was a strange connection between them, as if they were inseparable and it was the only thing that could comfort and interest her. The remaining days of her vacation had been spent in a blur; she couldn’t think of anything besides the painting and the secret it holds. She had spoken to the curator and inquired about the painter and he said they had bought the painting from an art dealer a couple of years back. Josephine had called the art dealer only to find the old woman he had purchased the painting from was dead and that she had no family he knew of, though he did learned from the old woman that it was a family heirloom that had been around since her childhood. The old woman’s name was Elizabeth Price and she was an American. Aha, whatever answer she seeks lies in America-home! A search through google had proved most productive-there were thousands of Elizabeth Price so that was pretty much useless; a few people with the last name Maverick, but only one place called Maverick Mansion, located in a town called Brentford. Brentford…Brentford, that’s only an hour’s drive from her house! Things couldn’t have been better! *** She took the keys to her car, hesitating a little. What was she doing, exploring a strange house all by herself? But she couldn’t rest until she solved the mystery of the painting. Her friends! Oh no, her friends! She had forgotten all about them! She hadn’t even told them she was back from Paris. Oh well, there was no time for that now. She would go check out the house and go straight back home; it shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours. There might even be nothing to it. She could just be imagining things.
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Post by ladyvaltaya on Aug 18, 2007 12:31:48 GMT
April threw her backpack onto an overstuffed chair and scowled as she reached back to shut the front door of her house.
A streak of white fur bolted past her with an angry hiss, followed rapidly by a much larger black blur.
"Thor!" she cried. "You leave Duchess alone!"
Needless to say the Great Dane only ignored her and continued bounding across the front lawn of her father's second empire styled mansion in pursuit of her Persian cat...
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Post by Azul Eyes on Aug 18, 2007 13:13:49 GMT
"Dude, who's that?" Steph asked Drama, eyeing a guy she hadn't see before. "I don't think I've met him before."
The pair had their smoothies, and they were wandering around the mall. Now, Steph wasn't completely boy-crazy or anything. In fact, she almost never had boyfriends, but she was genuinely curious about who this guy was.
"Have you seen him around before? And who's that chick his with? His sister? His girlfriend?" That was another thing about Steph, she could be nosey. Some called it annoying, but she just liked to have as much information as possible.
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