Spud

E x ᴄ ᴀ ᴠ ᴀ ᴛ ɪ ᴏ ɴ

@Spud I wasn't meaning particularly close friends but the idea of him bring like an older brother figure to her works if you don't mind?

In all fairness I had a handful of 19 year old friends when I was 16 XD

@SouffleGirl123

That sounds cool lol, most 19 year olds in my country are already in uni and 16 year olds in high school so :S they don't really hang out so it struck me as a little strange but I guess thats a geographical/cultural thing maybe haha ^^"

E x ᴄ ᴀ ᴠ ᴀ ᴛ ɪ ᴏ ɴ

@Spud Do you think Leigh and Lizzy could be friends?

@SouffleGirl123

Idk, there are a lot of 15-17 year olds/people Lizzy's age and he's older (19/20), seems a bit strange for them to be particularly close but since it's a small town they'd probably know each other at the very least. Like he's a graduate and Lizzy is still in high school so it seems a bit odd for them to be like BFFL's, but maybe he gives her driving lessons or something? Rather than being close friends perhaps hes a bit more of an older brother figure, like Olivia was an older sister/baby sitter figure to him when he was young because she was older. They were still close but their relationship had a different premise than "we were in class/school together".

E x ᴄ ᴀ ᴠ ᴀ ᴛ ɪ ᴏ ɴ

@Spud

If we don't hear from the other user- Go ahead and make a last name up for your character :)
Or if you'd like to change your ideas around because of their absence; you are more than free to do so.

---

Looking great everyone, I will be doing another post sometime hopefully today or tomorrow.
But you know how it can be sometime ^^;

@MissCapnCrunch

I'll write up an NPC for the step dad (or maybe take him on as a character as well possibly? I haven't decided). I'm looking for a little sister for MC if anyone wants to play her (around 10-13 or 14 years old). Ghost was gonna play a girl called Apsen but I've heard nothing so if anyone wants to play her (feel free to change the name etc). Jess is the mum and the step-dad (Robert) is the daughters father but Leith's father is someone else who is out of the picture.

E x ᴄ ᴀ ᴠ ᴀ ᴛ ɪ ᴏ ɴ

Any other day, any other occasion, Leith would be up and gone before Jessica was even up ... The boy was an early riser and a hard worker. He loved his work and he never missed a day, rain, hail or shine. When she came down the stairs, donning a posh gown knotted at the waist, she was surprised to find him sitting at the breakfast table staring abysmally at the fresh summer flowers in the vase centre piece.

Any other day, she'd have come down and started making breakfast for the rest of the family, her lovely daughter and wonderful husband, smiling at the message Leith left spelled out on the fridge in magnets or a sticky note by the tea-kettle, before he went to work. She'd pop by the garage on her way to Nicky's, with a lunch made for Leith, maybe a pie or some cake for him and the lads at the garage, hubby and daughter on their way to work or school everything blissful and pleasant in their sleepy little town...

They hadn't had a regular day since Olivia died.

Leith had been on auto-pilot, like an automaton, he really hadn't been himself. Jess was in pieces too, although, for Leith and Nicky's sake, she put on a brave face. Leith was still her baby and she needed to be brave for him, and Nicky ... Poor Nicky ... she'd been such a wonderful friend, a good mother to a good kid. The Ramirez family were the last people on Earth that deserved this.

The night they got the news, Jess "done the rounds" before bed, peeking in to see that everyone was tucked up nice and cozy and sleeping well. Leith was curled up and shaking, she climbed onto the bed and wrapped her arms around him close to try quell the muffled sobbing and offer some kind of comfort. Her own heart bled. He was still her baby ... even though he was taller than her now, with broad shoulders, facial hair even, a man, not a boy ... but her baby still. She felt selfish in a way, hugging her boy close and thanking the stars it wasn't him that had washed up on the banks of the bayou ... She wouldn't wish that on anyone, and it had happened and instead of thinking immediately about poor Nicky, she indulged in herself, in holding her son and daughter and husband and reminding herself "It didn't happen to us ... my family is safe". What a horrible friend she was, what sort of friend thought of her own family first after something like that knowing full well they were safe and sound anyway?! But she couldn't help herself. That night she needed her family and her family needed her. The next morning she was up bright and early preparing food for Nicky and her family and even the police while they were investigating and conducting interviews with local residents. When Jess lost her father, well, cooking and cleaning was the last thing on her mind, she couldn't even imagine how painful it was to lose a daughter, so she done what she could to help Nicky.

It had been a week already, now came the funeral. Jess had a bouquet from her garden, nothing too big and flashy, just a small thing, sitting on the windowsil so they soaked up a little more sun and blossomed extra nicely.
Leith was dressed in funeral black ... it was so out of place in the blistering hot southern sun. Leith felt out of place. He never wore suits and it felt wrong to wear black. Olivia was always so bright and bubbly. She wouldn't have wanted this- She ...

"Lei ... are you alright baby?" Jess asked, stroking a hand through his all-too familiar dark curls, so unlike her own hair ... so like his father though she couldn't resent Leith.
He shrugged. "This just feels so wrong."
Jess nodded. She'd have admired how smart Leith looked, wearing something other than worn out t-shirts or dirty overalls, but funeral-wear was hardly cheery and no matter how tidy he looked, she couldn't enjoy his misery. Olivia had been a great role model for him, six years older, they weren't exactly best friends, but she'd been like a big sister to him sometimes and they had been close.
"Are Robert and Aps comin'?" he asked.
Jess shook her head and switched on the kettle. "I thought it best if it's just us, if thats alright."
Leith nodded. "You're right ... Robert didn't really know her ... neither did Aps, no use dragging them along" he sighed.
"Have you eaten?" Jess asked, getting up as the kettle finished boiling.
"One of the croissants in the fridge" he shrugged, twiddling his thumbs, gaze downcast. "Mom?"
"Yeah?"
"Would ... Would Nicky mind if I- ..." he clammed up again, routing in his pockets to find a folded up letter, the folds of the paper worn thin from him opening and folding it back up several times.
"You want to say something at the funeral?"
He shook his head. "No ... I ... I want to give it to Liv ... I never got to thank her for all she did, yknow when I was growin' up 'n' stuff ... If Nicky doesn't mind I mean."
"I'll ask, I'm sure she won't mind you leaving a small letter with the coffin. I better get dressed. Can't go to the service in a dressing gown and slippers."
Leith offered her a small smile, faltering slightly, but it was hard to smile and pull each other up when someone so young died so horribly in their small town.

Jess quietly got changed, put on a light layer of make-up and smoothed her hair in place. Robert was having a lie-in, he'd finally gotten a day off, Jess didn't want to wake him up. Apsen would likely lie in bed for a while too, but he'd be there to get her breakfast and see what she was up to when she woke up. Finally, Jess crept back downstairs, dressed in black, shiny patent black shoes neatly shined. She grabbed her purse and Leith picked up the small, neatly arranged flowers from the window and they made their way to where the funeral be taking place shortly.

E x ᴄ ᴀ ᴠ ᴀ ᴛ ɪ ᴏ ɴ

@SouffleGirl123

Oh gosh, pregnant woman in a murder drama.
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG T___T
She's accepted- add her and your cute little son to your previous post!

@alexfangtalon

(: Yes of course. My sixth sense is telling me he's going to get along in Dixie just fine.

---

That being said...

TODAY IS STARTING DAY!

This RP is officially CLOSED to new players joining. (Unless heavily bribed)
If you are already here and havent posted your CS you have until Monday before I will not accept you.

The first IC post will be coming up here within the next few hours.
It will be starting 1 week after the first murder of Olivia.
If you would like one of your characters to be our next victims- at anytime please PM me.
I would like it to be kept a secret for most if not all the players before hand. Thank you!

@MissCapnCrunch

@vertigh0st Showed interest in the int check but I haven't heard from them in a bit about Apsen (MC's little sister) :S soooo ... not sure whats going on but I guess I could NPC it for a bit for now unless someone jumps in or something idk. I'll work on a post soooonies!!!

E x ᴄ ᴀ ᴠ ᴀ ᴛ ɪ ᴏ ɴ

Leith

---

---

Leith

_{Wait, you mean you didn't know Italian Spiderman was actually made in Australia?}

---

---

▾ Name: Leith

Leith Matteo Meyer

▾ Age:

19

▾ Gender:

Male

▾ Sexuality:

Homosexual

▾ Piercings, Tattoos, Scars:

Nope.

---

---

▾ Humble ▾ Indecisive ▾ Generous ▾ Unassertive ▾

▾ Personality:

Leith is a mommas boy at heart. A real sweetheart, he likes to help people out and most would say he's honestly the sweetest boy on earth. He's not without his shortcomings however. During his teenage years, Leith was disruptive in class and a bit of a troublemaker. His acting out was largely due to his conflicting feelings regarding his sexuality as he began to discover he wasn't attracted to girls. When he finally came out and learned to love himself a little more, he returned to the sweet boy he'd been before, heck, moreso even, he was now more humbled.
He's a bit of a prude in a way. Not that he's utterly virginal, but he absolutely can't stand foul language and can't help but cringe when someone swears, he himself never cusses. He generally keeps to himself but is also quick to offer a helping hand and be outgoing. He loves his friends dearly and he's a soft, old-school hopeless romantic at heart. His biggest issue is probably his indecision. Leith tries to please everyone and often fails to satisfy ANYONE by trying to keep everyone happy. He's easily manipulated because he tries to be a people pleaser. His relationship with his step-father is tense. He tends to have conflicting emotions regarding the men in his life and at times his rejection at the hands of his biological father rears its ugly head and threatens his relationships.

▾ Hobbies & Interests:

Repairing engines. He doesn't care about fancy new models or luxury cars, he likes fixer-uppers. He likes reading comicbooks and watching low budget "awful" movies (the worse the movie, the better!). He's outdoorsy and sporty and would happily spend every weekend swimming in the creek or camping and singing round a campfire with friends.

▾ Likes & Dislikes:

+ comics
+ cars
+ cute boys
+ outdoors

- swearing
- taking sides/fights
- bad coffee
- stepdad (sometimes)

▾ Other:

He's left handed, bears a striking resemblance to his biological father, works in the local auto-repair garage. He was somewhat close to the victim (Olivia) because sometimes after school he would sit in Nicky's while his mom worked and she would help him with his homework and she was probably the second or third person he came out to (after his mom) because she had such a warm, kind temperament. He's been very unsettled by her gruesome and untimely death.

---

---

▾ Biography:

The end-product of a teenage pregnancy ... Leith had a pretty decent childhood though, his mother Jessica, done a good job and she was heavily supported by Leith's maternal-grandparents.
His father (who was from an Italian family, hence Leith's half-Italian heritage) didn't stick around and this rejection at the hands of his father has always lingered with Leith.

Leith was about 12 when he began to think he was different and by 14 he was 100% sure he was gay and that made him miserable.
He was troublesome in school even though he was quite popular in his class and well liked by his peers. His mom didn't know what to do. Teachers said he was clever but kept causing disruptions and didn't do his homework. He fought with his step-dad and was disagreeable, so much unlike the sweet, quiet child Jessica had once known.

Things got a lot better when Leith finally confided in his that he was gay and was scared she'd kick him out and reject him like his father did, afraid his friends would turn on him and his life would be ruined. She accepted him and supported him although it wasn't always easy on her, especially in a small, religious town. Regardless, Jess put on a brave face because deep down, even though she didn't mean to get pregnant at 17, she was happy with her life, her family, and she loved Leith to death.

After coming out things began to look a lot better for Leith. He lost some friends in school, but surprisingly, he had a few supporters and homophobic bullying didn't really harm him. While he studied, he became an apprentice mechanic at the local auto-repair shop and thoroughly enjoyed it. Jess wanted him to go to college, she'd had a chance and lost it and didn't want it to happen to her son, but he seemed content Dixie fixing cars. It was his own real serious interest he didn't have any huge ambitions. She urged him to consider college, perhaps he'd like engineering. In the end, he was awarded a sports scholarship, but he could defer it for a couple of years.

Jessica

---

---

Jessica

_{Come on in, make yourself at home, there's always room here.}

---

---

▾ Name: Jessica

Jessica Grace McAdam

▾ Age:

36

▾ Gender:

Female

▾ Sexuality:

Heterosexual

▾ Piercings, Tattoos, Scars:

Nope.

---

---

▾ Homely ▾ Sometimes Strict ▾ Loving ▾ Smothering ▾

▾ Personality:

Jess tries to be Super-Mom, and for the most part, she doesnt' do half bad, but she's certainly not perfect. She's not as mature as other mums, at least, she wasn't when Leith was young, but now she's older and wiser but sometimes she still finds herself out of her depth. She relies a lot on her husband for support, advice and insight. Sometimes she can be a bit of a soft touch, particularly with Leith because they have a unique bond. She loves her family and her home and is very house-proud. Sometimes she can be a bit bratty to the neighbours, they are roughly the same age, except instead of having teenagers and young adult kids, their kids are just starting school (in the 2-10 age range), she feels she has a lot to prove because she's still trapped in the 80's when people looked down on girls getting pregnant at a young age, or having kids with different fathers.

▾ Hobbies & Interests:

Baking, pinterest, making crafts, gardening, animals, her "Book Club" (which involves more wine/tea and gossip than actual books ...)

▾ Likes & Dislikes:

+ Her home
+ Husband
+ Family
+ Community events
+ Book club

- Resents Leith's father
- Sometimes struggles to deal with Leith's sexuality
- Offensive music (rap/metal)
- Arguing with the kids

▾ Other:

Makes the best peach cobbler in all of Dixie!

---

---

▾ Biography:

Jessica was a pretty, popular young girl. She was the cheerleader with the hot (Italian) quarterback boyfriend and the whole world ahead of her was gleaming with promise. She was going to get a cheerleading scholarship and go to a fancy city university and everything would be just dandy ... Until she found herself pregnant at 17 ... She had her first child, a boy, Leith, when she turned 18.

Jessica found it hard to bond with Leith at first, but her mother and father were supportive, they insisted she stick it out and be proud and raise Leith to the best of her ability. Leith's father stuck around for about 8 months before abandoning them and disappearing to another state or europe or WHO KNOWS WHERE, never even sending a card or a penny of support. This made Jess furious, but it also made her very protective of her little boy.

Although they had a rocky start, Jess became an utterly devoted mother and gave Leith the very best life she could, with the help of her own parents. When Leith turned 5, she was able to work again, taking part-time hours while he was in school. She developed a bit of a social life and some independence. When Leith was 7, Jess's father took a stroke and eventually had to be taken into residential care. Her mother left to go to the next town over to stay close to her father and the title of the house was turned over to her. With a part time job and a busy young son and now a house to do up all of her own, Jess found herself very busy indeed.

Eventually, waitressing at the Nickys restuarant she'd worked in since Leith was 5, a regular, a solicitor from the city, finally worked up the courage to ask her on a date. For the first time since she was a teenager, Jess was getting dolled up and going out on dates. Leaving Leith with a child minder on date night, she enjoyed the attention and the brief feeling that she wasn't all alone. Robert was successful, hardworking and kind and he didn't even mind that Jess had a child.

After a few months of courting, Jess introduced him to Leith and the couple began considering moving in together, if he could find a way to work closer to Dixie. SUCCESS!!! and so Leith got a new "dad", although he didn't really take to him much, after spending his entire childhood with only Jess, he was standoffish and distrustful of suddenly having a father figure. Regardless, Step-Dad Robert tried his best.

When Jess found herself pregnant once again, she feared she'd be left alone with the child again and asked Robert where he stood with this "family" she had. Fortunately she got a much deserved happy ending and they got married very quickly and then Jess's daughter, April was born. Jess left her job in the diner to raise April and become a full time house wife, her husband could comfortably support them, especially since they didn't have a mortgage to worry about. Now, Leith is a man (though he's still her baby) and her daughter is quickly growing up too, Jess happily maintains her home, keeping kids and husband happy and instead of work, she gets involved in various community projects and parent groups. Although he is long in the past, she still painfully remembers Leith's father, since he looks so strikingly similar to him.

SUPPORTING CHARS
Robert McAdam, Jessica's loving husband, April's biological father and Leith's stpe father.

April McAdam, Robert and Jessica's 11 year old daughter, Leith's little sister.

Avengers Academy 1x1x1

((I'm finally back!!!))

"So want to hit the rest of the check ins with me?" He hadn't met anyone else yet so why not. He was supposed to try to be better around people anyway.

@BlackPanther

Billy had to reign in his emotions and stop himself from immediately nodding his head like a bobble-head toy when Franklin asked if he wanted to join him for the rest of the registration process. Holy Heimdall this is too cool! Billy still couldn't believe he was talking to Franklin Richard's, the guy who's parents made up half of the Fantastic Four...
"I heard you can wield Chaos magic, right?" he asked, he'd kept his own powers somewhat secret, downplaying his own potential because he wasn't sure what he was capable of, and it frightened him sometimes, but Franklin ... maybe he knew more about Chaos magic, looking at his parents alone, Franklin had the means to learn more about Chaos magic than Billy. He often shuddered at the thought of telling his very Jewish parents that he was a practicing witch, much less asking them to explain that to him ... At the very least, Franklin's parents knew what he was, plus Sue and Reed were super geniuses, if they didn't know much about Chaos magic, they'd find out something, they'd assess Franklin's abilities and potential.

Billy adored his parents, but it was hard keeping things secret from them ... like his boyfriend ... Although they liked Teddy they just didn't know they were dating ... Being able to confide in Teddy and learn about his powers with Teddy's help had been a tremendous relief, and now Captain America ... the Captain America was interested. He didn't have to hide here, and yet ... He still played down his powers, it was safer that way, but learning ought to help him sleep better at night and where better to learn about his abilities than Avengers Academy?!

"Where are you goin' in such a rush Grandpa?" Karla scoffed, giggling with Melissa out on the green.
"Rush? You ain't seen nothin' yet, Barbie" Tommy scoffed, glaring at the blonde haired girl staring him down.
"Really? Prove it." she shot back.
Tommy hated being bitched at ... before she could even blink, he moved, lightning quick, pushing her over, she landed right on her ass and he reappeared in his original position looking smug.
Karla blinked and growled, before her frown melted into a smirk and she started laughing. Melissa watched, dumbfounded.
"Who are you?" she asked, Melissa pulling her back up onto her feet.
"None of your business, Barbie" Tommy grumbled.
To his surprise, the blonde didn't seem particularly phased by Tommy's curt responses. "I'm Karla, this is Melissa ... Come find us if you get bored of Stark and Rogers breathing down your neck."
"Whatever." Tommy wandered off. Was everyone on this campus a complete dunderhead or was he just exceptionally unlucky today to bump into every idiot on campus?! First that stupid blond dude, now this bitch ugh!

E x ᴄ ᴀ ᴠ ᴀ ᴛ ɪ ᴏ ɴ

Vertigh0st is making the little sister and stepfather, I've made a mom and son! (please let me know if anything needs tweaking, a couple things might need tweaking to tie in more seamlessly with ghosts char)

Leith

---

---

Leith

_{Wait, you mean you didn't know Italian Spiderman was actually made in Australia?}

---

---

▾ Name: Leith

Leith Matteo Meyer

▾ Age:

19

▾ Gender:

Male

▾ Sexuality:

Homosexual

▾ Piercings, Tattoos, Scars:

Nope.

---

---

▾ Humble ▾ Indecisive ▾ Generous ▾ Unassertive ▾

▾ Personality:

Leith is a mommas boy at heart. A real sweetheart, he likes to help people out and most would say he's honestly the sweetest boy on earth. He's not without his shortcomings however. During his teenage years, Leith was disruptive in class and a bit of a troublemaker. His acting out was largely due to his conflicting feelings regarding his sexuality as he began to discover he wasn't attracted to girls. When he finally came out and learned to love himself a little more, he returned to the sweet boy he'd been before, heck, moreso even, he was now more humbled.
He's a bit of a prude in a way. Not that he's utterly virginal, but he absolutely can't stand foul language and can't help but cringe when someone swears, he himself never cusses. He generally keeps to himself but is also quick to offer a helping hand and be outgoing. He loves his friends dearly and he's a soft, old-school hopeless romantic at heart. His biggest issue is probably his indecision. Leith tries to please everyone and often fails to satisfy ANYONE by trying to keep everyone happy. He's easily manipulated because he tries to be a people pleaser. His relationship with his step-father is tense. He tends to have conflicting emotions regarding the men in his life and at times his rejection at the hands of his biological father rears its ugly head and threatens his relationships.

▾ Hobbies & Interests:

Repairing engines. He doesn't care about fancy new models or luxury cars, he likes fixer-uppers. He likes reading comicbooks and watching low budget "awful" movies (the worse the movie, the better!). He's outdoorsy and sporty and would happily spend every weekend swimming in the creek or camping and singing round a campfire with friends.

▾ Likes & Dislikes:

+ comics
+ cars
+ cute boys
+ outdoors

- swearing
- taking sides/fights
- bad coffee
- stepdad (sometimes)

▾ Other:

He's left handed, bears a striking resemblance to his biological father, works in the local auto-repair garage. He was somewhat close to the victim (Olivia) because sometimes after school he would sit in Nicky's while his mom worked and she would help him with his homework and she was probably the second or third person he came out to (after his mom) because she had such a warm, kind temperament. He's been very unsettled by her gruesome and untimely death.

---

---

▾ Biography:

The end-product of a teenage pregnancy ... Leith had a pretty decent childhood though, his mother Jessica, done a good job and she was heavily supported by Leith's maternal-grandparents.
His father (who was from an Italian family, hence Leith's half-Italian heritage) didn't stick around and this rejection at the hands of his father has always lingered with Leith.

Leith was about 12 when he began to think he was different and by 14 he was 100% sure he was gay and that made him miserable.
He was troublesome in school even though he was quite popular in his class and well liked by his peers. His mom didn't know what to do. Teachers said he was clever but kept causing disruptions and didn't do his homework. He fought with his step-dad and was disagreeable, so much unlike the sweet, quiet child Jessica had once known.

Things got a lot better when Leith finally confided in his that he was gay and was scared she'd kick him out and reject him like his father did, afraid his friends would turn on him and his life would be ruined. She accepted him and supported him although it wasn't always easy on her, especially in a small, religious town. Regardless, Jess put on a brave face because deep down, even though she didn't mean to get pregnant at 17, she was happy with her life, her family, and she loved Leith to death.

After coming out things began to look a lot better for Leith. He lost some friends in school, but surprisingly, he had a few supporters and homophobic bullying didn't really harm him. While he studied, he became an apprentice mechanic at the local auto-repair shop and thoroughly enjoyed it. Jess wanted him to go to college, she'd had a chance and lost it and didn't want it to happen to her son, but he seemed content Dixie fixing cars. It was his own real serious interest he didn't have any huge ambitions. She urged him to consider college, perhaps he'd like engineering. In the end, he was awarded a sports scholarship, but he could defer it for a couple of years.

Jessica

---

---

Jessica

_{Come on in, make yourself at home, there's always room here.}

---

---

▾ Name: Jessica

Jessica Grace [need surname]

▾ Age:

36

▾ Gender:

Female

▾ Sexuality:

Heterosexual

▾ Piercings, Tattoos, Scars:

Nope.

---

---

▾ Homely ▾ Sometimes Strict ▾ Loving ▾ Smothering ▾

▾ Personality:

Jess tries to be Super-Mom, and for the most part, she doesnt' do half bad, but she's certainly not perfect. She's not as mature as other mums, at least, she wasn't when Leith was young, but now she's older and wiser but sometimes she still finds herself out of her depth. She relies a lot on her husband for support, advice and insight. Sometimes she can be a bit of a soft touch, particularly with Leith because they have a unique bond. She loves her family and her home and is very house-proud. Sometimes she can be a bit bratty to the neighbours, they are roughly the same age, except instead of having teenagers and young adult kids, their kids are just starting school (in the 2-10 age range), she feels she has a lot to prove because she's still trapped in the 80's when people looked down on girls getting pregnant at a young age, or having kids with different fathers.

▾ Hobbies & Interests:

Baking, pinterest, making crafts, gardening, animals, her "Book Club" (which involves more wine/tea and gossip than actual books ...)

▾ Likes & Dislikes:

+ Her home
+ Husband
+ Family
+ Community events
+ Book club

- Resents Leith's father
- Sometimes struggles to deal with Leith's sexuality
- Offensive music (rap/metal)
- Arguing with the kids

▾ Other:

Makes the best peach cobbler in all of Dixie!

---

---

▾ Biography:

Jessica was a pretty, popular young girl. She was the cheerleader with the hot (Italian) quarterback boyfriend and the whole world ahead of her was gleaming with promise. She was going to get a cheerleading scholarship and go to a fancy city university and everything would be just dandy ... Until she found herself pregnant at 17 ... She had her first child, a boy, Leith, when she turned 18.

Jessica found it hard to bond with Leith at first, but her mother and father were supportive, they insisted she stick it out and be proud and raise Leith to the best of her ability. Leith's father stuck around for about 8 months before abandoning them and disappearing to another state or europe or WHO KNOWS WHERE, never even sending a card or a penny of support. This made Jess furious, but it also made her very protective of her little boy.

Although they had a rocky start, Jess became an utterly devoted mother and gave Leith the very best life she could, with the help of her own parents. When Leith turned 5, she was able to work again, taking part-time hours while he was in school. She developed a bit of a social life and some independence. When Leith was 7, Jess's father took a stroke and eventually had to be taken into residential care. Her mother left to go to the next town over to stay close to her father and the title of the house was turned over to her. With a part time job and a busy young son and now a house to do up all of her own, Jess found herself very busy indeed.

Eventually, waitressing at the Nickys restuarant she'd worked in since Leith was 5, a regular, a cop from the city, finally worked up the courage to ask her on a date. For the first time since she was a teenager, Jess was getting dolled up and going out on dates. Leaving Leith with a child minder on date night, she enjoyed the attention and the brief feeling that she wasn't all alone. This man was successful, hardworking and kind and he didn't even mind that Jess had a child.

After a few months of courting, Jess introduced him to Leith and the couple began considering moving in together, if he could find a way to work closer to Dixie. SUCCESS!!! and so Leith got a new "dad", although he didn't really take to him much, after spending his entire childhood with only Jess, he was standoffish and distrustful of suddenly having a father figure. Regardless, Step-Dad tried his best.

When Jess found herself pregnant once again, she feared she'd be left alone with the child again and asked Step-Dad where he stood with this "family" she had. Fortunately she got a much deserved happy ending and they got married very quickly and then Jess's daughter, Apsen (vertigh0st's char), was born. Jess left her job in the diner to raise Apsen and become a full time house wife, her husband could comfortably support them, especially since they didn't have a mortgage to worry about. Now, Leith is a man (though he's still her baby) and her daughter is quickly growing up too, Jess happily maintains her home, keeping kids and husband happy and instead of work, she gets involved in various community projects and parent groups. Although he is long in the past, she still painfully remembers Leith's father, since he looks so strikingly similar to him.

E x ᴄ ᴀ ᴠ ᴀ ᴛ ɪ ᴏ ɴ

I think b, a couple of weeks or 1 week after. I find when RP's start off with a big event straight off the cuff, it bottlenecks and then slows down to a crawl/people drop like flies (but maybe its just my crummy GM-ing) so when I do these kinda RP's I start with a steadier pace rather than big event ... but I haven't done a murder mystery so maybe it would be really good to start BANG on the day/moment this all begins...

If you did start a week later you could already have the PD uncovering clues and whatnot though so thats worth considering ...

Ohh, question, I aged up my dude to about 21, could he have been friends with the victim :) I noticed a sea of 17 year olds and ... well, he wouldn't fit in with that group and with no one else of similar age :S just wondering how to bring him into the fray.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Drew/Spud)

““However... I am going to give you a week to find him. If by this time next week he is not back within our control. I am going to have you killed ... I’d suggest starting quickly.”

Karpov didn't need to be told twice ... no one messed with the Red Skull or failed him and got off with it lightly. Karpov was in deep shit now, but, he couldn't let the grunts see him looking weak, even in the face of Skull's threats. Red Skull might have seen the slight wavering in his eyes, the dilation of his pupils, but the guards at the door couldn't see that, to them, he looked like he was bravely staring down Red Skull, before he got up, straight posture, looking cool, calm, collected and powerful ... Red Skull would know he'd shaken him, but the goons who'd be doing his footwork wouldn't see that, and that was all Karpov had left right now. It wouldn't do to have them think he was weak, then they'd get sloppy or lazy and he needed them at their best if he had any hope of capturing the Winter Soldier again. He was their best agent and he was possibly disoriented, feral ... worst of all, there was a chance he might be remembering things and that would be devastating ...

First they had to find him. He'd been programmed, certain landmarks, certain extraction points, certain protocols. The Winter Soldier was usually ruthlessly efficient and ... predictable. He hit his mark he got away, he returned to the handler. But now they were in uncertain territory. He'd vanished. Some missions had unusual hiccups, not entirely unlike the hit on Captain America, but he'd eventually wind up at an extraction point or he'd make contact ... A day had passed without a peep and thats when Karpov suspected he was in some trouble ... Then Red Skull threatened him and now the hunt was on big time.

"If he's left the country it could be too late" Karpov frowned, he'd assembled an elite team to help him devise his plot to trap the Winter Soldier. With no clue what his "mission" or motive was ... it was hard to discern what exactly he would do. If he had the intention of returning to HYDRA, he'd come to them, so there was no need to patrol extraction points with extra agents, just monitor them regularly. Keeping an eye on Captain America was an option, Karpov assumed The Winter Soldier might return to his target to try and extract information or perhaps finish the job. But if he was evading HYDRA as Karpov was beginning to suspect, he wouldn't be dumb enough to fall into such an obvious trap ... He half cursed himself for that, the Winter Soldier was too cunning sometimes. So what else could he do after dropping off the radar? He'd be gathering intel, but on what? and from where?

Two days passed with no change. The Winter Soldier didn't some to them and they had no sightings ... Stephanie Rogers retreated to her apartment where Agents reported they never saw anyone enter or leave. It was very unlike her actually ...

The Winter Soldier was in deep cover, completely off the radar ... in a homeless shelter ... he sort of looked the part and no one paid attention to vagrants or homeless people. He was hiding in plain sight, and his bewilderment and odd questions didn't seem so odd when he looked like a crazy hobo. He knew better than to use a public library or internet cafe ... HYDRA would be watching public networks ... Instead he waited till the dead of night and snuck into a late-night business office. He usually covered HYDRA tech agents when they cracked into encrypted computers, but he watched, he learned ... He was more dangerous than HYDRA gave him credit for. He couldn't look up too much, even on the private computer he knew he could be traced, they could figure him out. He didn't search "Bucky", he searched "Captain America", after all, he'd seen her on the cover of newspapers a couple of days ago, for her rescue of Haines, he knew the odds of his particular search being flagged and tracked was less likely, but whatever Bucky was ... he couldn't be so sure he wouldn't be followed.

A few hotspots came up ... Brooklyn ... Camp Leigh ... Europe ... Italy, Austria, Germany, France ... Smithsonian-
The museum ... Perfect ... he could figure out who Captain America was and ... why she called him Bucky, why she was his target.
A few other searches and he found her home address, heavily buried data ... but there it was. And so he went. He watched. He waited ... She just sat in her apartment. 2 more days of searching for answers passed. The Winter Soldier didn't understand anything more than he did 5 or 6 days ago ... He decided to his the Smithsonian. The security guard waved him through, but CCTV in the heavily guarded museum picked him out and HYDRA were tipped off.

James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes was the only Howling Command to die in service of his country-

There it was in black and white ... there was even a picture of him, not that Bucky really recognised himself. he didn't spend much time primping himself in the mirror before missions after all.
He reached out and touched the plaque, the photo ... Bucky?
It ... it couldn't be him- ... But, if it was ...
Best friends since childhood ...
Why was she the target?
It was, shocking, terrifying, he'd come so close to killing her and, although he couldn't remember, he suddenly felt that she was important. At the very least, he couldn't kill her. He knew her.

It was then he decided he needed proper answers ... He needed to confront Stephanie herself.

It had been 6 days and Steph hadn't left her apartment, deliveroo was a saviour, she'd have starved otherwise. But Nat wasn't going to put up with it anymore, as shocking as this revalation was, the world needed Captain America, especially with the terrorist attacks against mutants!
Nat dug up what she could, calling in favours and contacting old KGB contacts to wring out any information she could find. Most of the data was destroyed or hidden in an underground bunker in the guts of an ice-cold Soviet tundra. She couldn't get those files, but she could scrape together other things and that was better than nothing.
She arrived at Cap's doorstep and knocked, nursing a file under her arm.
"Cap, I've got something you need to see ... it's not much, but ... well we have a few leads."

She wasn't sure how Stephanie wolud take it ... the files confirmed that Barnes was very much alive ... but what happened to him was nothing short or atrocious.

Once inside, she sat down beside Stephanie and flipped open the file. "The mission on the train, when you captured Zola ... Barnes fell but ... Zola's experiments on him in Austria, he was trying to replicate the serum they used on you, it must have kept him alive long enough to- ..." she trailed off, "He was found by Russians, they thawed him out and repaired his body. He had no memory but incredible muscle memory, he fought the scientists and doctors with only his right arm before they put him back on ice." there was a photo, the Winter Soldier in cryo-stasis, it must have been quite some time later because his hair had grown longer, and pinned to its edge, a smaller photo, Bucky in his old US army uniform ... before the fall.
"He was transferred to Department-X, where they began Project Winter Soldier, the same Department behind the Black Widow Program some years later ... He even trained me. He was reprogrammed and fit with a metal arm, Vasily Karpov Sr was his first handler ... " a lot of the details were fuzzy ... his file was largely filled with "suspected hits" though no one could properly confirm it was the Winter Soldier, he was a ghost story. "This mission here, Odessa, it was after I joined SHIELD ... I was covering a scientist ... he shot the scientist ... through me." Nat had the scars to prove it too ...

"I'm so sorry Stephanie ... It's- ... It's definitely Bucky but, the guy you knew isn't in there any more. We need to stop him, for good, before anyone else can get hurt. You're the only Super Soldier, the only one who can face up to this guy ... we need you."

HYDRA swept the museum, a smoke grenade blinded the Winter Soldier, nerve gas took him down, though it took a little longer than expected, he injured seven HYDRA agents ... two were critical. But Karpov had won ...

He returned to the Red Skull, the Winter Soldier cuffed and unconscious, dragged in by a pair of struggling HYDRA goons who lugged his dead weight in.
"The Winter Solider, Herr Skull." he presented, stretching out an arm, tadaaa. "I'll see to it that he is restrained, debriefed and wiped."