Realistic or Modern 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴

[Crookie]

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Blackwood Falls is a lost sock: hard to find. Hidden away in the heart of Oregon's pine forest, this town is small, tightly-entwined, and rich in history. Everyone knows everyone, families are bound, and secrets are even harder to keep. Kids walk on traintracks and rip wings off butterflies because there's nothing more to do. Pacific Northwest picketfence America, fathers work long days, mothers make homemade chicken soup, and grandparents rock on the front porch while knitting. Peaceful, quiet as the wind through the trees, not anything stirring has happened in the past 40 years.

Yesterday, Tuesday the 26th of April, 1989, Maya McLeary was found dead on the perimeter of Blackwood Falls, one mile into the forest, away from the town and any civilization. Her body was found with third-and-fourth-degree burns, encompassing 60% of her body, and lacerations across her limbs. She was found in a clearing of trees, but no sign of forest fire or tampering with the area was reported. Foul play and third-degree murder are suspected, but there are no leads currently on the attacker. Miss McLeary had been the librarian at Blackwood's public library for the past 4 years.

This was huge news. The population of the town had found out and was shocked in a matter of hours. McLeary's name was in everyone's mouths, mainly at the highschool: Blackwood Falls High. Even more especially, it is the topic of focus for the Unofficial But Very Fake Official, Cryptozoology/Paranormalist Investigational Society Party of Blackwood Falls High School. Code name: The Weirdos Club. To be honest, Blackwood Falls High is a school of cliche movie cliques (jocks, populars, goths, the sort), and while they may all love some good gossip, no group was talking about the news more than the most hated group of them all: the nerds. And, gladly, the Weirdos Club was made up of just that. Awkward, clumsy, acne-dotted geeks, with no cheerleader girlfriends or football game trophies. Barely any of us even have a plan for college or a career. We just planned on meeting up at the arcade, as we do every day after school for club meetings, and hunt the aliens of Oregon for the rest of our lives.

And that's just what we plan on doing. The police have made no advancement to actually conduct an investigation: as far as we know, they've swept up McLeary, thrown her in a coffin, tossed her in the ground, and wiped their hands. No concern, no problem. Like the whole thing didn't even happen. Why bother going out finding a suspect when there's a baseball game on? Too much work for the cops of this county. So, the perfect explanation is to let a group of 16-year-olds figure out the truth, right? Of course.



SUMMARY

Blackwood Falls, Oregon, is a small town in the woods where nothing exciting happens. But when a shocking crime occurs, everyone but the cops of the town are freaked out. The cops are not looking for whoever committed this murder, instead of laying Maya McLeary to rest and moving on like nothing happened: out of sight, out of mind. An unofficial club at Blackwood Falls High, crudely nicknamed the Weirdos Club, has taken it into their hands to conduct their own investigation. No one can seem to understand what happened to McLeary, how she got there, and who could have killed her. To the kids, all clues point to something paranormal. But what they find is even further from the truth.

most strange indeed

coded by nymphadora. ©

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[Crookie]

"Fourth-degree burns across the majority of the body. Lacerations across arms and legs, probably made by some tool or claws. Clothes not removed. Hair not tampered with. Liver and one kidney removed, no surgical stitches - cauterization?"

Slam-down in the middle of Arcade Adventure, one of the greatest additions to the tiny no-good forest town of Blackwood Falls. Christopher Loch sits nestled in a racing game seat, tucked up so his feet are on the steering wheel; among the arcade is a massive expanse of bright and flashy beeping games all hungry for quarters. He has a piece of paper blocking the screen boasting speeds and times -- a scribbled page from the autopsy report. One perk to living in such a small town is the sole funeral director is so old and senile that he won't ask twice about a kid asking for autopsy records.

He swings his legs down and faces the Weirdos Club. Arcade Adventure was the staple meeting place after school ever since the club was created. It was quaint with its soda-sticky carpet, open late hours, and even on a Friday afternoon, nearly empty. However, the arcade's tunes, trills, and beeps alongside the flashing neon lights and blacklight posters don't help display the seriousness of the topic on hand. At least it is dark-ish. The B-52's newest hit Love Shack booms gently from some distant speakers.

"Rest her soul, I mean," he adds off-handedly, sneaking a finger under his glasses to scritch at his tired eyes. "I'm pretty sure she gave me a sticker when I was 7 because I actually returned a library book on time for once. Miss McLeary was cool."

"But - to get back on track here - this autopsy report is ridiculous, and honestly kinda terrifying. I'd be surprised if Stephen King doesn't pick up this story for his next hit. The police say that they don't have any leads on anyone who could have murdered McLeary. She's widowed, so she doesn't have a husband or any kids. Anyone left from her family is a few states over. So that rules out anyone person we can talk to for now." He hops off of the arcade machine, and pulls out a chewed-up pencil from his back pocket to take notes on the autopsy paper.

"Does anyone have any ideas? The police haven't made any move yet for an investigation, since 'the police force in this area is too small' -- yeah, yeah, or they're just denying the truth. They're either real lazy, or they actually do know what happened, and they don't want people to find out!"

FireMaiden spooked.duke Farmgirl310 oliver Makomin king_of_demons12 ​

 

[FireMaiden]

Gwendolyn Foust
Location: Arcade
Interaction: Crookie (Christopher)
Mentioned: N/A
A lot about the McLeary murder was suspect. All of it actually, and Gwen knew it. Though she wasn't the only one who knew it, the whole town knew it. Her mom knew it and that woman lived in a cloud of innocence and denial. So walking I to Gwen's room after she had covered her wall with copies of crime scene photos and newspaper clipping Criminal Minds style. Say what you want to about shows like that, there was always a truth behind it. Her mom was worried the police were going to bust down the door and arrest her for it but they just seemed...so determined to make this all go away. And Gwen knew enough to realize that meant one of two things.

They were either dirty cops, the whole lot of them, or the murder really was an accident.

Even sitting here in the arcade, her nose was buried in one of her many psychology books. This was about Ted Bundy, once she had read a few times but it had come up again in her cycle of books. She had to say though, Ted Bundy wasn't as smart as people said he was, the police were just lazy. Not doing their jobs right. And that was a definite similarity here. But out of all the serial killers she had read about, there hadn't been anything exactly like this murder. She was sat on a bench nearby the game Christopher was sitting at, her eyes on the book as she chewed on her thumb, but her attention was on him.

"Were her organs cut out or we're they eaten by scavengers?" Gwen asked, looking up from her book. "If they weren't found, whoever did this took them with him, unless some animals got at them. It could be symbolic like a heart or stomach." A lot of serial killers took trophies, which is what the liver or kidney could be. Though trophies are normally smaller things or hair. But that's not where they should start, Gwen's brows borrowing for a second or two. Her gaze shifted down, fingers fiddling with the bookmark before she looked back up. "We should go look at the crime scene. Or maybe we should go and see if we can get into her house."

 

[oliver]

Archie Ardovini

​

Location: Arcade

With: The Weirdos Club

Tags: Crookie FireMaiden

Several feet away from "Detective" Christopher Loch was Archie Ardovini, hunched over one of 3 hit Pac-Man games that lined part of a wall of Arcade Adventure. His eyes were locked on the screen through his glasses while his body swayed to the music and Christopher unknowingly battled with Fred Schneider's for his attention. Calling it a day on one of the levels and not being too rushed to add another fake name of his to those of the list of high scores prompted Archie to purposely screw up once, twice, and a third to. He allowed Inky, his favorite cyan ghost, murder Pac-Man in cold blood. Reminiscent of the Maya McLeary case, wasn't it? Twisting around to lean against the arcade machine, his white t-shirt glowed faintly with all the spunky lighting. Archie's gaze settled on the president of the Weirdos Club as he rambled on about Miss McLeary.

"I loved Miss McLeary! She gave me one of Carl Sagan's novels after I begged her to let me keep it." Archie added before continuing with his answer. "I'm thinking we have either a really skilled murderer that hates books and likes fire here in Blackwood Falls or... we a really skilled alien murderer that hates books and likes fire here in Blackwood Falls!" Archie proposed, snapping and aiming a finger gun towards Christopher.

Pushing off the poor Pac-Man machine he'd been abusing ever since opening day of the arcade, Archie shuffled over to Christopher and threw an arm around his shoulder as he peered over him to see what he was writing. "The police are scared, Detective! They don't wanna end up like our dear Miss McLeary. But lucky for her, she's got us." Archie snatched Christopher's glasses off of his face before he squatted down next to him, looking up at him through not only his own lenses, but through Christopher's as well while offering a stiff grin. He twisted his head to look over to Gwen.

"But what would a kidney or liver symbolize? A drinking problem?"

Despite his outward disregarding expressions, Archie was definitely taking the whole situation very seriously. He switched up his glasses with Christopher's, handing his over to his friend as he started to dance, albeit very poorly, to the end of Love Shack. "Gwen's onto something. I vote for checking out the crime scene first."

codedbycrucialstar​

 

[spooked.duke]

"I'm not surprised police haven't done anything, no one wants to believe that a person they see on a daily could be a librarian killer." Romulus scoffed as he watched Archie play his Pac-Man game, forcing himself not to make a remark to the other teen's dancing. The case of McLeary was indeed, strange. It wasn't everyday you'd see a murder where in the victim was burned, lacerated, and had organs extracted. And with police not doing anything, personally Romulus didn't think that was strange, in a small town like Blackwood Falls, and a case of murder, that would entail any of the residents here could be the culprit, and no one would like to think that their next door neighbor could be a killer. Fear leads to paranoia, everyone in town seemed on edge ever since the discovery of the librarian's body, but some took her death as an opportunity. It was as if the second McLeary's body hit the floor, his mother was already making it the headliner for the town's newspaper. To even give him his own copy of her article made him sick. It was rather disgusting knowing that his mother is making a large profit out of someone's death but, it did mean that if she was snooping around, her big mouth can give him some information at dinner.

"She was alright I suppose, never gave me any trouble whenever I borrowed a book." Romulus never really was the type to go to the town's library, all their books were highly outdated and his home library had a bigger variety if he could say so himself. He took a critical look at the newspaper in his hand, the big headline reading, "Local Librarian found dead, foul play in our midst?". "You would think she'd come up with something a bit wittier." Romulus sighed, putting the newspaper down, he could use the article with the firewood for his fireplace tonight he supposed. His mother's writing was rather weak in his opinion, he knew that himself and even Christopher can write a better article than his mother's poorly worded garbage. She always loved to play onto the dramatics, theorizing an affair or a saucy romance gone sour, even though Miss McLeary was very much single. "If we think in the long term, we can ask a few of her family members if they come around for the funeral service but, I doubt they'd be able to give that much insight, depending on how much Miss McLeary liked to gossip with her family members who live in separate states."

Romulus' eyes narrowed at the theories of Archie. "Seems like rather a stretch to think we have an alien in our midst. And I don't think not liking books would be a strong motive to kill her, if that was the case, the hillbillies here would've murdered Miss McLeary years ago." Though, admittedly enough, he enjoys the company of this club (it beats having to speak the popular cliques more than he would want to) the theories put out by his (He supposes he could admit,) friends were rather strange. Though he did find reason in the theory of Gwen, it was good to know someone here had at least a bit of reason. "A symbolism could make sense to the murderer taking her liver and kidney. I've read before that biblical symbolism for the liver is internal purification and the kidney means temperament and wisdom." It was good to know the Sunday school he was forced to go to back in New York actually came in handy. "Though if the organ extraction truly meant to symbolize something, what was Miss McLeary hiding about herself? Impurity?" Seems unbelievable that a librarian had a secret to hide. It was all too reminiscent of the Jack the Ripper case, murdering prostitutes for their impurity in nature. But, it could quite possibly explain the need to burn her, the inferno's flames after all. If the theory was true, the killer would have to be a hyper- religious freak with a messiah complex, not very ideal.

Romulus looked to Gwen, giving her a nod in agreement. "I too, like her idea, it's better than what you both have to offer. If we go later in the evening, there's less of a chance getting kicked out for trespassing. Though we'd have to be careful, if we get caught, we could be moved up the suspect list." Even if the police weren't investigating, if word goes around that they were near the crime scene, the whole town would suspect them. And that wasn't very good for his reputation. He glanced at Archie, seeing him dancing even more, a ridiculous display. Romulus found the music played here to be distasteful, (though he'll never admit it was the same kind of bad like to watch a cheesy movie, at the end of the day enjoyable) "Will you ever stop those ridiculous dance moves?" A rather amused smirk on his face, to think he chooses to hang out with these people after school.

mentions: oliver Crookie FireMaiden

 

[FireMaiden]

Gwendolyn Foust
Location: Arcade
Interaction: Crookie (Christopher) oliver (Archie) spooked.duke (Romulus)
Mentioned: N/A
"Romulus is right, the liver and kidney are biblical, though umm...it's not just impurity and wisdom, hang on." Gwen suddenly moved, grabbing her book bag from the floor beside her. She pulled the black canvas bag into her lap, reach up to tuck hair behind her ear before she opened it. Now, this wasn't her school bag, that was at home and it was green. And in the vague shape of a frog, like the foggy chair, but it also had little ducks on it. Gwen thought it was insanely cute and was unable to control the impulse buy. But this was a simple JanSport bag. Inside were latex gloves, snacks, plastic baggies, tweezers, etc. Gwen had built up her own crime kit, which came in handy with some of the things they got up to.

Anyway, she shoved her book inside before pulling out her phone. It was an LG Stylo5, 15 dollars a month, which meant she got to enjoy unlimited data because the phone itself was cheap. "Okay umm, I read an article about what different body parts and organs symbolize. And as for Jack the Ripper, he was narcissistic, any trophies he took were to mock the police. Like the earlobe he took the same day he killed twice. They couldn't catch him and he needed them to know just how much smarter he was than them," Gwen rambled as she looked through her various bookmarks for the article she mentioned. "Oh here! Kidneys were used in the bible for sacrificial offerings, they were for purity rituals at temples and...hang on the print is super tiny." Gwen squinted a little, hunching over as her elbows resting on her knees, her thumb coming back up to her lips for a moment before she continued speaking.

"Sacrifices including kidneys we're supposed to bring out divine intervention for medical problems. It also says that kidneys are cited figuratively as the site of temperament, emotions, prudence, vigor, and wisdom. And that your kidneys are something God uses to judge you. Animal livers were also used in temple sacrifices and rituals, not just civilian ones, but get this," She paused looking back up at the boys, "There are instructions in biblical texts on how to sacrifice them. It's all burning at an altar. And before you say satanic cult, no. Those don't exist. They've been disproven but satanic serial killers do exist. It might be why the police don't want to look into it."

 

[Makomin]

ignatius "iggy" lee.

tagged: Crookie oliver FireMaiden spooked.duke

A yawn escaped from Iggy's mouth as he finally decided to lean his elbows on the control panel, his right hand gripping the joystick slightly tighter as his left hand occasionally pressed the buttons that were situated on his left. He was currently immersed in a round of Donkey Kong- his favourite game in the whole arcade.

Maybe it was the lasagna he had beforehand or maybe it was because his caretaker (Ms A) wouldn't stop panicking and freaking out over Maya McLeary's murder. Ms A was a frequent patron of the library and in doing so, she befriended McLeary. They weren't the best of friends but Iggy guessed that finding out your friend was murdered in a gruesome manner one day was no smiling matter.

He couldn't help but wonder whether his game of Donkey Kong was a euphemism to him right now. Mario was now them, trying to figure out how to rescue- or well, rather, find out who murdered McLeary, in place of Lady. It was now a game of more who was Donkey Kong and why did Donkey Kong murder Lady. He didn't have a good feeling about this but being who he was, he was psyched for an actual adventure.

"Symbolism of kidneys and livers? Sure, there was a reason why Ms McLeary was killed but I don't think the murderer pulled out her kidney because she had a drinking problem or she gave each of us at one point of our lives a sticker for staying quiet in the library." Iggy spoke up nonchalantly just as the screen blacked and victory was displayed. "Though, we should definitely go see where it took place." Iggy turned before giving Gwen shooting gestures with his fingers while smiling.

"Maybe whoever did it just wanted to torture her and not kill her but it got bad very soon." Iggy suggested as he moved over to Archie, observing his dance moves before imitating them too, now both of them looking like bad contestants auditioning for Dancing with the Stars. Iggy the extended his hand, gesturing to Detective's own glasses that he stole before asking, "What if it's someone we know who did it and not an outsider?"

 

[king_of_demons12]

Isla Matthews
​

Isla Matthews stood in a nearby corner in Arcade Adventures, surveying the club's other members converse about the mystery and humming the song currently playing softly. She didn't know the words, but somehow a part of her knew the melody. She had paused her thoughts about the murder and began to ponder where she knew the song from. She couldn't help but wonder about trivial things in her distracted mind... and it's not like the girl would ever jump into their conversation.

To be honest, Isla couldn't really join the conversation in the first place. As intelligent as she was in her scholarly studies, she hardly knew anything about detective work. The teen only joined the "Weirdos Club" because it was the only place that she was accepted for who she was. Or, at least she thinks she was accepted. She never really interacted with the group, for her fear of rejection was too strong. Plus, she had only joined just the day before McLeary's death.

"Miss McLeary..." Isla mused, the words under her breath. She had cried when she heard the news of the humble librarian. Isla had visited the library on the daily to talk to Miss McLeary, read quietly in the corner, or check out a couple of luring novels ever since she could remember; the two had developed a special connection through their love of reading.

Isla looked up at the group again, lending another ear to their discussion, her arms crossed protectively.

 

[Crookie]

you guys are incredible! thank you so much for posting, and posting quickly nonetheless! i will let y'all know that almost all of these posts came to me around 2-3am my time, so i will probably be on a different posting schedule then you guys!

Christopher tosses a barred-teeth grin towards Archie as he lowers his head to wipe his new glasses on the hem of his shirt.

"Anyways, I'm on board with -- oh god, nope." His eyes stretch wide as they desperately try to focus on the friends before him. He flips the glasses ontop his head, rather opting for his own horrible eyesight over Archie's horrible eyesight.

"I am completely on board with visiting the crime scene while we can. As far as I know, there may still be police paraphernalia around the area keeping hikers and hunters out. There is also the chance that the county police here are actual dicks and have destroyed - er, 'cleaned up' the crime scene already. If anything, that would just mean we all go on a camping trip to really figure out what's hiding in that forest."

He squints down at his notes, and the new ones he added during the conversation. Gwen's "satanic cult???" is underlined.

"That whole cult thing isn't too far-fetched, actually. If you guys are willing, we could take a visit to McLeary's house and see if we could find any clues there. Y'know, unbenounced debts, agreements to some evil overlord diety, a big black cauldron. The usual sweet old librarian stuff. I don't have a key to her place, obviously - I don't think anyone does in Blackwood - so, if you guys are willing, we could maybe break in? Tonight? Dressed head-to-toe in black and quiet as the night, what teenager fun."

 

[king_of_demons12]

Isla Matthews​

Isla's eyes widened at Christopher's suggestion. "B-B-Break in?" She squeaked without thinking. She immediately shut her mouth when she realized she had uttered the words aloud.

Isla had realized this club was not messing around when it came to the unusual when she joined, but she was not expecting any law-breaking to be involved. She wasn't a criminal - she was an innocent, teenage student! It's like they don't even care about the consequences! She thought to herself in shock. I know they're serious about this whole situation, but doing this? Isn't that crossing the line a bit? In that moment, the brunette knew she had to say something. She didn't want to ever object to their ideas, but this was an exception. Isla couldn't let them break into the librarian's house, whether she was alive or dead.

"What if we... get caught?" Isla swallowed hard, her head dizzy from speaking to the club members. Her heart pounded in her chest as she braced herself for their reactions.

 

[spooked.duke]

Romulus thought of the odds of anything going wrong with breaking in, and the chances of them getting caught. Yes, it was a bad idea and the logical side of Romulus was telling him to decline the second the suggestion existed but he decided, if the police truly won't help, Romulus doesn't want to meet the same demise as Miss McLeary. "That's... not a bad idea actually, we break in tonight and camp out in the woods when the police decide they're done playing watch dog." He glanced again to Archie and then to Ignatius, who had decided to join him. "But only with the condition of putting these two on a leash. The odds of not getting caught are better like that."

The timid voice of the new girl was brought to his attention. Romulus had to admit, he had forgotten she was there, but to his defense, she never really talked much. It was to be expected though, technically her second day into this club and there's already a murder case they want to solve. "Yes," He focused his cold attention on her. "break in, it's one of the best chances of us getting some answers regarding this case. And believe me, if you think this is dangerous, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this hodgepodge club." Did Romulus mean to be so intimidating? Of course not, but if it did come out as such, it was all in the duPont heritage of looking stone cold, even his smiles would give a faintest taste of malice.

He honestly felt bad for this kid. Why did Christopher let her in the club if she was so scared of everything? But then again, this was a murder. She had every right to be scared he supposed. "Look... Isla, was it?" Romulus folded his mother's awful newspaper and put it down. "We're not going to get caught, not unless tweedledum and tweedleduffus decide to practice their performance in Miss McLeary's home. And if ever the chance we do get caught, I'll pay for bail, or bribe whoever finds us." Money wasn't an object to Romulus. He's lost track of how many quarters he's supplied, pizzas he's bought, and among other things all for the sake of entertaining his friends. It truly was no issue to him, as long as they were safe and happy, though he'd hate to admit that. "But if you truly feel unsafe and unwilling to go, you're free not go with us. Right, Christopher?" He looked to their appointed leader for approval, his eyes clearly giving the blonde the look of, "It's my way or the highway, you better agree" Even with Romulus' sour exterior, you had to admit, beneath his passive-aggressive and intimidating way of speaking, he was a mom friend.

mentions: FireMaiden Crookie oliver king_of_demons12 Makomin

 

[FireMaiden]

Gwendolyn Foust
Location: Arcade
Interaction: Crookie (Christopher) oliver (Archie) spooked.duke (Romulus) king_of_demons12 (Isla) Makomin (Iggy)
Mentioned: N/A
Christopher didn't seem like he had actually been listening. That caused Gwen to sigh a little, cheeks puffing up as she ran a hand through her hair. "No, a satanic cult is far fetched Detective, they don't exist. It's a myth, so if it is satanic it's just gonna be one guy. But there could still be a religious aspect to it. Maybe the killer saw her as the perfect sacrifice, or maybe he's going to eat her organs and the fire was to torture her," Gwen explained again, a little more exasperated this time. It wasn't a mystery the two of them had the same goals for their future. Maybe different departments, but still. And she had read so many books and articles...Gwen knew she had to keep an open mind, so if there actually was a satanic cult...they would need to start documenting things. There could still be a cult, a normal one, here in town but if there was, none of them had been indoctrinated yet.

"The crime scene would have been cleaned up by now since they already buried her but...there's stuff they could have missed. And I have the crime scene photos, one of the cops is sleeping with my mom and I'm blackmailing him since he wants to be friends," Gwen explained nonchalantly. "We can go by my house to get them before we head out. As for breaking into Ms.McLeary's house...I have plenty of stuff to help keep our identity covered up." Gloves, glasses, some hairnets, stuff like that. The police didn't go to her house and as far as Gwen knew, nobody was watching it. They just had to be careful. It was really obvious that Isla was worried, a small detail that made Gwen internally roll her eyes. Of course Romulus stepped in before she could finish talking, but she still had her two sense to put in. "Not all of us have to break into her house. Two or Three would do the trick. If there's too many of us, the more chance there is of getting caught. And Rom, lay off Archie and Iggy, they're our friends."

 

[king_of_demons12]

Isla Matthews​

Isla's eyes widened when Romulus looked at her dead in the eyes, and a flush of embarrassment crawled across her cheeks.
"Yes," He said to her. "Break in. It's one of the best chances of us getting some answers regarding this case. And believe me, if you think this is dangerous, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this hodgepodge club." Isla bit her lip and looked at the ground, trying desperately hard to stop the hint of tears forming in her eyes.

Don't be such a baby! She scolded herself.

"Look... Isla, was it?" He continued, causing Isla to look up at him again. "We're not going to get caught, not unless tweedledum and tweedledufus decide to practice their performance in Miss McLeary's home. And if ever the chance we do get caught, I'll pay for bail, or bribe whoever finds us. But if you truly feel unsafe and unwilling to go, you're free not go with us. Right, Christopher?"

Isla's once-rapidly beating heart froze in place, then sank at his words. She couldn't figure out if he was trying to make up for the coldness of his previous statement, but it all shut her down. She wanted to help them. To be included! But her efforts to stay near them were not enough to make them warm up to her. They obviously would've preferred a club member that joined in their conversations. One that automatically agreed to do risk-taking actions.

Just like them.

But she wasn't like them.

She could be different from others, but she felt as if she couldn't live up to the nonexistent standard of being a "weirdo". (Which was frankly pretty weird to think.)

Why did I choose this club? And how in the world did I even get in it? Isla's mind buzzed from question to question. Do they all hate me? Are they watching me?

"Not all of us have to break into her house. Two or Three would do the trick. If there's too many of us, the more chance there is of getting caught. And Rom, lay off Archie and Iggy, they're our friends." Gwen said, breaking Isla out of her trance.

Isla took a deep breath, and looked down at the ground again.

I can't be thrown out like that... I wouldn't forgive myself for passing up an opportunity to make real friends. What if I just went with them? It wouldn't be so bad... right?

~She imagined herself in all black, sneaking into Miss McLeary's window with the club. They all searched through her stuff, looking for evidence to help the case. Isla had just found something, when the door burst open. Everyone turned frantically to the place of action. Large men in police uniforms filed in, grabbing the members and sticking them in handcuffs.~

"N-No... No..." Isla mumbled, almost inaudibly. Her vision got blurry and the teen's chest ached in pain from her heart speeding up again. She tried to breathe, but her throat kept tightening up. Her hands shook violently as she tried to pull at her neck. Her whole body began twitching, and her breaths got more frantic.

What is happening?! Tears welled up in her eyes.

(Please forgive me if this sounds stupid; I've never written a character having a panic attack before.)

 

[oliver]

Archie Ardovini

​

Location: Arcade

With: The Weirdos Club

Tags: Crookie FireMaiden
spooked.duke king_of_demons12 Makomin

"Okay... Well it could still be aliens and not the book part!" Archie argued in place of his own desperation to meet the extraterrestrial one day. Soon after he was reduced to some quiet giggles as the biblical symbolism of the organs made a lot more sense than motivations based purely on taste. Sticking his tongue out in Rom's direction as he did in fact continue his awful dancing, Archie excitedly turned to look at Iggy who had joined him in the meantime.

Christopher's glasses were far from his own prescription, so he was eager to get them off his face and hand them over to Iggy. Following this, Archie plucked his own from the top of Christopher's head and shoved them back on his face so he could properly see. He almost felt guilty for giving away the other's glasses but alas, it was no longer a problem of Archie Ardovini.

In fake shock and offense, Archie gasped at the suggestion of Romulus. "You're horrible, Rom! That's called animal abuse!" He laughed and brought his dance moves closer to Romulus. When he arrived next to him, he stopped and slid his arm around the brunette.

"In any case, I'm all down for dressing up and breaking and entering, even if me and Iggy end up as the lookouts on the outside. Though," he continued, his head lulling to the side towards Rom's, "I'm going to need a detailed report of what the inside looks like." It wasn't supposed to be a creepy thing, Archie was just genuinely interesting in what type of place Miss McLeary was living in by her lonesome. He wondered if it was like a miniature library. How much of her time did she spend reading?

For a moment, he hummed to himself, considering what kind of person Miss McLeary was behind closed doors. "Do you guys think Miss McLeary could have been involved in some shady stuff?" He then asked, lifting his head to look around and everyone. For a moment his eyes settled on the new girl, Island or something, but quickly shifted over to Gwen who seemed like she knew more than even Christopher.

codedbycrucialstar​

 

[spooked.duke]

The light scold from Gwen made Romulus immediately break eye contact with the new girl and straight to his well-polished leather loafers. Though he'd never admit it, Gwen was probably one of the only people who have the balls to put him in his place if his teasing goes too far. It was kind of endearing knowing that there's someone who's not afraid to call him out on his shit. "I was kidding." He muttered, his porcelain like skin turning a light red from his embarrassment. It wasn't rare for Romulus to react like this, if anything it would be surprising if he got scolded and didn't react as such. Though his blush did turn a slightly richer color of red as Archie placed his arm around him. Physical contact was always something Romulus struggled with, it often get him nervous. But after having friends like Archie, he's only left red. But that's better than flinching or pulling away like he used to when he first began hanging out with the group. Call it development of character if you will. "So you admit that you're an animal?" Romulus scoffed, focusing his attention on Archie with another amused smirk. His eye contact broke as they continued to talk about the plan for their scheme. It was almost a reflex for him to lightly lean his head onto Archie's as he listened. "Rather inappropriate for you to want a detailed description of our dead librarian's home, but I'll be sure to write at least a two page essay on it." Sarcasm seeped through his words, it was in Romulus nature to be sarcastic, luckily he was around the type of people who'd get it. Not like the popular cliques at school, he always had to portray a hollow politeness towards them.

As the brunette continued to listen to the discussion, Romulus' crystal blue eyes somehow lead back to the new girl. Was she... on the brink of tears? He glanced at Archie, hoping for him to see what he's seeing, then to Gwen and Christopher. He barely knew the girl, this was her second day in club, and she was already on a brink of a breakdown. He expected this at least the 2nd week in, but then again with an unsolved case in their hands, stuff like that can be cut short. Romulus wasn't very good at these situations, he wasn't much of an emotions man, hell, there are still skeletons in his closet that he hasn't gotten the nerve to tell anyone about. He looked to the rest of group once more, his expression blank but his eyes telling them to, "Do something." before lifting his head from his comfortable position, shuffling closer to Isla to extend an arm on her shoulder. "How about we all get some icecream after discussing all of this? My treat. We have a long night ahead of us. That means you too, Isla." Romulus was no expert when it comes to Psychology (in retrospect he should be leaving this to Gwen, but a part of him feels responsible for how this kid is reacting) but by the way she reacted to his words, she didn't quite like being left out. It felt quite odd knowing that they were in a club that was advertised to be for weirdos and they have somehow isolated this girl. It was understandable for her to feel overwhelmed, there quite the bit of personalities in this group. When Romulus said it was hodgepodge, he truly did mean it. "This is why we introduce ourselves properly on the first day when it comes to a new member." Romulus made a mental note to give Christopher a lecture when this all blows over.

mentions: oliver FireMaiden Crookie king_of_demons12 Makomin

 

[king_of_demons12]

Isla Matthews​

Romulus's words made her suddenly find her breathing air again. He put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. She wiped her cheeks with her sweater sleeve and swallowed hard.

"Um, okay." Isla managed to say after calming down from the most terrifying moment of her sixteen years of being alive. The teen was so embarrassed that she couldn't move.

I'm so stupid... All of this over a simple suggestion to help get evidence of a murder. She sighed, then mustered up all of the tiny bits of courage she had in her.

"I-If it's okay, I w-want to help at Miss McLeary's house..." The brunette trailed off, trying to show that she wasn't such a baby. "I-I mean - if you need me." She added.

 

[Crookie]

sorry, college classes have got me swamped !

Christopher's head turned to each speaker as the conversation bounced like a pinball machine. He did shoot an estranged look of concern and morbid curiousity to Gwen at the mention of the cop's adultery and her blackmailing. He mouthed to his partner in crime "We can re-visit that," and quickly added after her point: "The club can come over to my place after the operation! I have a pretty sizable basement, so slumber party anyone?"

Everyone in the club was making great points, yes - he was prepared for his suggestion of breaking in to either be met with applause or disgust. When Romulus directed his gaze to him, he started immediately.

"Of course! Jesus Christ -- I would never actually put you guys in any sort of danger!" He takes a step towards Isla, concerned at the presence of her tears but his mind has seemed to short-circuit thinking of how to comfort her. He ends up awkwardly reaching out a hand that contorted into a sheepish finger-gun. "There is always the chance of real danger, but hey, there's so much of us here in the club, we can protect you. We will protect you! If anything, we're trained professionals when it comes to the supernatural."

As he offers a wan smile, he can't help but think but this may not be the supernatural. This could actually be a serial killer we're running after. Eh, c'est la vie. Anything for a great story.

"On behalf of the Unofficial but Totally Fake Official Paranormal Society of Blackwood Falls, we appreciate and honour your efforts, Isla," Christopher directs towards the new member, hoping some humour may help her spirits. "Of course we need you - we'd love your help."

He whispers sharply towards Romulus, "see? Introduced."

 

[king_of_demons12]

Isla Matthews​

Isla quietly nodded at Christopher's suggestion of a slumber party. Her mom was going to work the night shift, anyway.

She couldn't help but smile at Christopher as he told her that they needed her. And not only that - that they'd love her help, and would protect her! Her heart fluttered with the thought of being included. It almost gave her a sense of confidence in knowing that she was going to do something dangerous.

Almost.

Isla still really didn't want to do anything that could get her in trouble. Her poor mother was already almost stretched to her breaking point with the pressure of taking care of her and working at her two jobs. But the surefire nature of the group in risk-taking was enough to spark something inside her. She didn't know what, exactly, but what she did know was that she made a good choice in picking this club.

Maybe they didn't all entirely hate her. She just needed to come out of her shell more. And going along with them would probably be her best bet to do so.

 

[FireMaiden]

Gwendolyn Foust
Location: Arcade
Interaction: Crookie (Christopher) oliver (Archie) spooked.duke (Romulus) king_of_demons12 (Isla) Makomin (Iggy)
Mentioned: N/A
"Oooo, a slumber party sounds fun! My mom has come up with a new cookie flavor so she's probably gonna give me a bunch to test on you guys." Her mom loved each and every one of these kids like they were her own. All of them would get free stuff from the bakery and they were the ones she would product test on. So far, everything she sent had been a hit. Like the new and improved chocolate chunk cookies that she would not tell how they were new and improved. But dam it, they were good. Anyway, Gwen chuckled a little when she saw Christopher's interest. The story of her mom and the cop wasn't that interesting, but it was funny.

As most of their attentions turned to Isla, Gwen stood and grabbed her backpack, swinging it over her shoulders. Regardless if they all left right now or not, she wanted to get the crime scene photos. "So, are we all going to go together or should we just meet up at the crime scene in a little bit?" She asked, slipping her phone into her back pocket before she subtlety pulled her shorts up a little higher. She hated the feeling of her pants slipping, so her doing this wasn't uncommon.

 

[oliver]

Archie Ardovini

​

Location: Arcade

With: The Weirdos Club

Tags: Crookie FireMaiden
spooked.duke king_of_demons12 Makomin

"Dearest Romulus, we're all animals. We're humans, you know?" Archie easily replied. "And I don't mean it that way! I'm just curious about what kind of life she led outside of the library. Could be useful to note!" He got a more defensive over that compared to any other lame insinuation or insult that Romulus could ever throw his way. While thankful towards Gwen for encouraging their friend to be nice, the nasty words had never really bothered him. It was all teasing and as far as he was aware, Romulus still considered them friends.

It became all too clear that Island was having an issue-- she was on the verge of tears! And then suddenly she was more than on the verge of tears. Archie's focused shifted to her and he scrunched up his face. Abandoning the warm of Romulus's side, he let his friend go and try to make up for whatever drama had just soared right over Archie's head.

"Oh man-- Ice cream, cookies, and a sleepover? See Island, you really joined the right club!" Archie said, perking up at the promise of all the treats, completely oblivious to the fact that he still didn't know the new girl's name properly.

Walking over to the Pac-Man machine Archie had long since claimed, he plucked up his messenger bag that had been plopped against it and threw the strap over his shoulder. "I say we meet up at the crime scene in a half hour. I've gotta stop at home to tell my grandpa where I'm going to be and goodnight." Archie was pretty open with his grandpa about what shenanigans he got up to, convinced that he was half-senile. Or maybe just a very cool guy. There was also a chance he'd stopped listening or didn't believe Archie since some of the things he could ramble on about were bizarre. Either way, Archie loved his grandpa.

codedbycrucialstar​

 

[spooked.duke]

"A sleepover sounds alright." A small sigh of relief exited Romulus' lips. Isla seemed to have calmed down. Especially after Christopher's little pep talk for her. He retracted his hand from Isla's shoulder and glanced at Christopher, narrowing his eyes at the sharp whisper. "Thank you." He whispered back, both in sincerity and equally as sharp. Don't get him wrong, he was friends with Christopher, he trusted him just as much as he would trust anyone else in the club (maybe even a bit more since he was their leader) but he did love playing the 'I told you so' card. Romulus made a mental note to call his mother later.

His attention was back on Archie for the 100th time today and suppressed the urge to laugh at his lack (or joking lack) of knowing Isla's name. "I believe her name is Isla, not Island, dearest Archie." He retorted before getting up from his seat, beginning to shove the ugly newspaper into his leather satchel. Romulus' eyes widened in interest when Gwen mentioned her mother's cookies. He was a rather picky eater but nothing made his mouth water more than her mother's cookies, Romulus wasn't religious in any way but he truly believed that her secret ingredient was a piece of heaven itself.

Romulus shrugged off his cookie interest and nodded along. "I agree, I need to pick up my clothes before we go, my mother has the house locked up before nine." A part of himself did envy his two friends talking about their guardians on a pleasant note, Gwen and her mother, Archie and his grandfather. Romulus couldn't say he and his mother hated each other. They talked during dinner time and she would brag about him to her friends. But he supposed that's why he didn't quite develop a close relationship with his mother. It was superficial and he felt more of a trophy than a son. But he supposed those were the repercussions of being the duPont family's only son. Snapping out of his thought, he looked to their blonde leader. "Would you mind if I stop by your place to drop off my things and the icecream?"
mentions: Crookie oliver FireMaiden king_of_demons12 Makomin

 

[oliver]

quick question isnt this the late 80s?

 

[spooked.duke]

quick question isnt this the late 80s?

Yes it is!! I completely forgot, I'm sorry (I edited my message!)

 

[FireMaiden]

Gwendolyn Foust
Location: Outside of the Arcade - In her car
Interaction: Crookie (Christopher) oliver (Archie) spooked.duke (Romulus) king_of_demons12 (Isla) Makomin (Iggy)
Mentioned: N/A
Gwen watched the other for a few more moments before she slipped her bag off her shoulders long enough to grab her chapstick. She reapplied it, slipping it back in the small pocket before she put it back on correctly. "Well, I'm gonna go ahead and take off. I've got some chores and stuff to do, though if anyone wants to come with that's fun, y'all know what my car looks like. Later guys!" If anyone wanted to ride along with her because they didn't have anything else to do, she was fine with that. Her mom loved all of them and it wasn't like they had much to hide at home. Gwen kind of bounced off to the door, saying goodbye to the man in charge of the arcade like she always did. Turning left, she walked down the parking lot just a little until she came to her brand spanking new 1989 Honda Accord. She had just gotten her license, and as a reward, her mom bought her a car! Gwen had to work in order to help pay for it, but that was easy. A few shifts at a local diner on the weekend was enough to deal with that.

From the pocket of her high waisted shorts, she pulled out her keys, unlocking the front door before she stepped into her car. She gently tossed her bookbag into the backseat, turning back around with a sigh. There was an alternative reason for her leaving so quickly. The slight shake in her hands, the tenseness in her shoulders. Isla may not have been able to hold back but she had had too many panic attacks to be able to ignore the signs. Rolling down her window so she had some air, Gwen then sat back in the seat, eyes closed. Crowds made her nervous, and it felt like there were eyes on her. But paranoia was a hard thing to shake as well. Regardless of how she tried to hide this, Gwen had asked if anyone wanted a ride. So she was going to wait a few minutes at least to see if anyone took her up on it.

 

[Crookie]

"Absolutely man, don't worry about it," Christopher nods to Romulus. "You remember the secret entrance to the basement? You can enter there if you don't feel like facing my mom in the kitchen. She'll probably end up offering you Jello taco salad or something for dinner." He cracks a smile - but throws a thousand-mile stare to Archie's shoes by the Pac Man cabinet. Jello taco salad was no laughing matter.

He bid a brief farewell to Gwen, a small army salute, and faced back towards the remaining group.

"So, I guess it's decided that we'll meet up on the edge of town by the school - the direction of the crime scene starts at the forest there, so if we end up getting lost, at least we'll know which direction to run in. Kinda. I'll be bringing some maps and flashlights for us to divvy up. From what I know, the crime scene is pretty deep into the forest, so hiking boots are considered more stylish than Converse in this realm. Let's aim for once it gets dark -- 8pm?"

He lifted his hand in goodbye, and exited Arcade Adventure. Another strange, yet helpful Weirdos Club meeting adjourned.

Christopher's house was a mild walk from the arcade, and he didn't mind the mid-April weather. Outside in the quaint gravel parking lot, he spotted a familiar car yet to have left. He walks up to the driver's side window, and innately drums his fingers on the roof of the car.

"As always, I've gotta comment what a hot rod this is, Gwen." His cheekiness quickly melts to concern. "Hey - is everything okay?"