Young Writers Society

No matter where you might come from, there is a forest that you are not supposed to enter. It is said that this forest stretches across all realities, tainting those that it comes across. The forest is a terrifying, wild place, and few have knowledge on what lurks within. But despite the many warnings you may have received, you have wandered into the forest. Maybe you wanted to prove to the adults in your life that you can handle things on your own. Maybe you were trying to run away. Maybe you saw the forest and wanted a new place to play. Whatever the case is, you are here, and the forest will not be letting you out of its clutches in the near future.

Fortunately, you are not alone. There are other children here, too, each just as scared as you are by the darkness and the mysteries that surround it. But this is not merely an adventure. You keep getting flashes, things that almost feel like long forgotten memories or long lost dreams - it must be the second option, because there's a problem if it's not...

...In every one of those flashes, you are older than you are now.





The characters were all adults - or relatively old teenagers - when they entered the forest, but have become kids now that they're in it. They've lost all memories past the age they're supposed to be at. While they might have had a good reason for going into the forest, they've forgotten what it is; instead, they'll come up with a reason that makes sense for their childhood self. As the roleplay progresses and the kids explore the forest, they'll begin to get their memories back. They'll come in flashes, and the kids likely won't think too much about them the first few times. Once it begins to happen more, they'll start to question what's going on.

When they finally remember who they are, their bodies will return to normal - but they likely won't be in the company of the other characters when they do. The second challenge they have to face in this roleplay is either convincing the kids that it's them and that they're not actually children, or just deciding its best to keep an eye on the kids to make sure they don't get hurt.

1. Please include a description of your character in your first post - you can throw it into a spoiler using the code down below and put it at the top of your post.

Code: Select all

[spoiler]Put your description here![/spoiler]

2. Feel free to pick characters from whatever you want. They can be from another roleplay, a storybook, a novel or even a fanfiction of yours. The world, time and plot they're from ultimately just impacts how they interact with this roleplay so it's really up to you.

3. You can have as many characters as you want, but there'll come a point where you can no longer add new ones because it would alter the plot too much. I'll make sure to say something when that happens, so don't worry about it for now.

4. Please don't write for anyone else's characters. It's hard to predict what someone else might have their characters do, and it takes away some of the fun for the other writers.

5. You're free to have your character guess what the plot is, but don't make any plot-altering decisions with talking about with me first. You can PM me or chat in the spoilers of our posts if you have an idea - I love scheming! I just want to make sure your schemes can be incorporated into what I'm already scheming.

(The only exception to this rule is turning your characters back to normal, but I highly suggest waiting for awhile before you do. From my experience with the last version of this roleplay, it's a lot more fun drawing it out.)

6. Don't post multiple times in a row, and make sure everyone has a chance to get a response in. There's going to be times where it makes more sense to post back-and-forth between two people, but try avoiding it unless you absolutely have to - it prevents the other writers from getting too behind and feeling like they aren't involved with the story.

7. Have fun!

I. Have. To. Join. This. One. Forget what I said earlier about two RP's being enough for me!

Charlie's great adventure for the day hadn't involved getting lost in the spooky, scary forest bordering his house.

Not that he was scared! He felt very, very brave right now. He could easily handle the mist that was rolling across the forest floor, and easily handle the scary noises coming from deep within the woods. He just wished he knew a way out so his parents wouldn't get worried.

Definitely.

(Even though he knew he could stay in the woods as long as he wanted without his parents getting worried.)

So Charlie kept going through the woods, trying to push away the fear that he totally didn't have. If he kept walking, he had to find the way out eventually. It was just a matter of time--

--"It was just a matter of time before you gave up," his best friend said, crossing his arms.

A blush spread across Charlie's face. "I didn't want to leave you waiting."

He got a raised eyebrow in response. It was familiar. Charlie didn't like how familiar it was - he always hated when Dick did that look. It reminded him of someone else. A different best friend, born and gone long before this gremlin before him popped into existence.

"I think you got scared," Dick teased.

"What?" he replied, indignant. "Me, scared? I'm not scared of a haunted house."

Dick shrugged. "I don't know," the younger boy said. "If you really weren't scared, you'd go back inside now to prove it."

Charlie faltered.

He slowly looked back at the building. He wasn't really scared. He could easily go back inside of it, especially if it was to prove Dick wrong. Squaring up his shoulders and taking a deep breath, he marched inside the building--

Charlie frowned, then pinched himself on the arm as the weird vision stopped. That was funny. The visions only happened when he was sleeping, not when he was awake-

Wait.

Visions?

A chill running up his spine at the realization that he didn't ever remember having visions before, Charlie went just a little faster through the woods.

Aster giggled triumphantly. Her brother, Clause would never find her in this forest...
Forest? Aster thought she'd been hiding in a Tree House but maybe she wasn't remembering properly. Anyway, her parents had told her that she and Clause could play outside until 5:00...but how was she...

''Scott! How am I supposed to love you, when your heart lies with some other woman?'' Asterina exclaimed glaring at her so called boy friend, hurt clawing at her heart like talons.
Scott had a pained look on his face.
''Aster you know I'd never love another woman. You're the only one who has my heart.''
Asternia scowled, her hurt turning into rage.
''Oh yes? Then why did I see you kissing Janie Hallice? '' She shot back.
In response her lover let out a long sigh.
''That...wasn't what you thought it was.'' He explained.
Asternia glared at him, those talons of agony ripping her heart into a million pieces. She couldn't bear to say this words next but she knew she must.
''Scott Raymore, if you are so despicable as to kiss another woman when you claimed you loved another then...'' her voice caught. ''Then...''

Aster shuddered. What a horrible dream...Wait...a dream when she hadn't even closed her eyes? Fear, cold as ice, shot down her spine.
''I want to go home...'' she whispered.

Charlie skid to a halt.

It was good, then, that he wasn't going nearly as fast as he wanted to. It wasn't that he wasn't running his fastest - he was! He just felt like he should have been able to run faster, even if he couldn't really figure out why.

But he had heard someone else.

The other someone had been whispering, so he couldn't really tell what was being said. He didn't even know who that someone was! But it felt like it was his duty to investigate and find its source - especially when its owner was in his woods - and so he darted through the woods.

And found a girl standing there.

He frowned and crossed his arms as he looked over.

"What are you doing in my woods?" he asked.

''Your woods?'' Aster retorted indignantly, her earlier fears forgotten in the need to defend herself. ''These are my woods! I was playing here first!'' She glanced at him up and down, and sniffed.
''What's a dumb old boy doing here in my forest?'' she challenged crossing her own arms.

He crossed his arms.

"These are the woods behind my house!" Charlie argued. "Even if you were playing here before me - which you definitely weren't - I still have dibs because I live here."

''You're lying!'' Aster retorted, ''I didn't see any house when I came here, and I didn't see you so you were NOT here first!''

Megara was walking through the woods. She knew she wasn't supposed to be there, and that father would be very angry if he caught her, but she could always tell the cook to tell him that she was in the kitchen. The cook was always so helpful when Megara begged. I'll have to cry this time, she thought, I made her mad yesterday when I tracked blood into the kitchen, so I'll have to cry.

Crying wasn't hard. All she had to do was stare into space for longer than her eyes wanted to and screw up her face like she was really sad and the cook would do whatever she wanted. A lot of adults would. That's why father trusted her. She could make adults do what she wanted. It was the only thing Briar couldn't do better.

"Faster." The sharp order reverberated through the room. It came to pound against Megara's ears, and her muscles ached at the sound of it. She was already so, so tired. Her limbs were heavy, bulky things that couldn't move a millisecond faster than they were.

So she stopped.

"Are you deaf as well as stupid, girl?!" The furious voice rang in her ears. "Begin again!" Ringing, ringing, ringing.

Megara's chest heaved slowly, her breath controlled. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

A hand raised behind her and Megara remained still.

It came down and she moved faster than the eye could track.

A snap sounded, then a sound like a heavy cloth sack falling to the floor.

Megara stepped over the body of her instructor and walked calmly over to where a glass of water waited untouched by the wall. She stooped and gingerly picked it up. She turned to the body on the floor, staring lifelessly into space, its head twisted the wrong way, and raised the glass. "Cheers, love." She took a sip.

Megara gasped and leaned against the nearest tree for balance. Had Briar poisoned her again? Gods, she hoped not. Father was always so irritable when Megara was with the doctors. He hated it when she let herself get hurt, but he hated it even more when she let Briar get away with poisoning her. Was it her food this time? Had she been pricked? If it was in her blood father would be especially angry. How could she not have felt it?

She bit her lip. She'd have to hide it.

She stood up straight and dusted herself off, though her clothing was immaculate, and continued walking. She would be fine as long as Briar hadn't chosen a fatal toxin.

She spotted a couple of people ahead and walked a little faster. People weren't supposed to be in the woods around the manor.



Meketaten had no idea what was going on. This place, these plants, didn't look familiar at all. The air itself felt weird to breathe, thicker somehow, and she was cold. Her clothes were too thin for this.

She didn't know why she was here.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she tried to rub them away. No crying! she chastised herself, Mommy wouldn't want you to cry!

Her mommy would tell her to put her chin up. Act like a Pharoh so people would show her respect. Or, however mommy had put it.

"Have some more," the kind smile of the beautiful, portly woman was enough to convince Emily to let her fill her glass again. The thick, bright red liquid poured from the pitcher into her modest wooden cup and Emily offered the woman a smile of thanks.

"One shouldn't be hungry on the solstice," the woman said matter-of-factly, "It's a night of feasting."

"A wonderful night it is," Emily agreed, bringing the cup to her mouth.

"Oh, no, honey, one more toast for the night!" the woman protested and hurried to her feet. She grabbed her cup as the rest of the family, who had been engaged in happy chatter of their own, stood with her.

The woman raised her cup into the air, "To the end of the growing season!"

Her husband rose his cup next to hers, "To out new friends!" He was looking at Emily.

"To Plentiful resources!" One of the sons.

"To long life!" The second son.

"To longer nights!" The daughter.

Emily's cup joined theirs, "To the sweetness of honey!"

Ruckus laughter burst out from all around the table. Once they'd calmed, they drank. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth, then slid thickly down her throat.

Meketaten shrieked.

"I'm not lying!" Charlie protested. He hated when people called him a liar - like when he said he was a redhead, and everyone else always said it was brown. It was, but it wasn't really. There was just something wrong with it. "My house is right next to the woods - that's why I can play here-"

He was cut off by the sound of a shriek.

The shriek should have made him scared like he was earlier, but instead Charlie found himself drawn to the source. He just knew in his gut that it was the right thing to do - that he was a hero, and that heroes weren't supposed to run from something like a scream in the woods.

So he ran towards it instead.

And when he skid to a stop, he found the owner looked like she was from a museum. Charlie couldn't help himself - he gaped, and then he laughed. And then he remembered he was supposed to be a hero, so he stood a little taller and asked in the most mature voice he could muster, "Why are you screaming?"

Aster pouted, ready with stinging come back, when a loud shriek pierced through the air. Like a homing pigeon, she raced towards the noise to find the funniest sight she'd ever seen. A girl that looked like Cleopatra come to life. Aster felt a girlish giggle bubbling inside her but choked it down.
''Why did you scream?'' she asked, eyes wide.

Meketaten stared up at the boy with wide, kohl-lined eyes before she remembered to compose herself. Like a Pharoh.

"That's none of your business," she said to him with all the dignity of the royalty she was, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be." She didn't have somewhere to be. She wanted to go home, but she was hopelessly, hopelessly lost. This place didn't look anything like the palace. She couldn't even see the palace from here.

Still, she marched away, past the other girl who had asked the same question as the boy.

Unfortunately, she only got a few steps before she ran into another girl. Or, she thought it was a girl. Like the boy, her coloring was strange. All pink and pasty. She could even see little blue and purple lines under the skin in some places! And this girl, in particular, had hair made of gold.

Meketaten's eyes widened again and she opened her mouth to say something but the girl beat her to it.

"Who are you?" she asked with a curious tone.

Meketaten didn't think she'd ever seen eyes so big, and definitely not of such a bright color! She ignored that for now and raised her head a little higher, "I'm Meketaten of Egypt. Now, I have to leave, so if you would-"

"Who of where?" the girl's demure appearance dropped in an instant and she was suddenly confrontational. Rude.

"I already told you," Meketaten said, trying to imitate mommy's stern voice, "Now if you would get-"

"Where's Egypt?"

Meketaten's jaw dropped, "What do you mean 'where's Egypt'?" she asked incredulously.

The girl crossed her arms, "Just what I said. Answer my question."

Meketaten huffed indignantly and tried to brush past, but the girl caught her arm with a surprisingly strong grip. "Let go of me!" Meketaten protested.

"Answer me," the girl said calmly.

"My mommy will have you killed for this! I mean it! Let me go!" Meketaten didn't know if her mommy really would, but she might, and she could. The girl had no right to grab her like that!

The girl giggled, tightened her grip, "Answer."

Charlie looked wildly between the girls, eyes wide at both the threat and the giggle in response to the threat. There was something wrong with that girl! Why would someone ever giggle after hearing that!?

"I think your mommy has a problem, then," Charlie said, hiding his fear and confusion behind a bravado that just seemed to fit. His goggles were started to slide down a little, but he didn't bother to fix them. "Killing is bad."


He must have been hit really hard in the head because Van had absolutely no idea how he had gotten here. The woods were like the woods his mommy and daddy had taken him to when he was little, but he had never been out of London since then. And he definitely hadn't gone there now! Something must have happened to him, but he couldn't remember what that something was.

And that was worrisome, but Van was used to worrying things.

He ignored the growing feeling of dread in his stomach, marching on with a determination he didn't really feel. There had to be somewhere here who could tell him where he was. Or, at least, he could take some food from them. Food sounded good. He was so hungry.

His stomach growled in agreement--

--His stomach hurt. It felt like it was tearing itself up from the inside, and he didn't know how he could sooth it. He had no food. He didn't have the strength to get up and find it. It was cold. He was tired. And he knew he had to stay awake, but he could barely keep his eyes open.

He had to stay awake.

Just a little longer.

Maybe he could...

His eyes closed.

And then the world looked weird and scary, and he wasn't curled up against the wall anymore. He was standing next to a dirty, grimy boy in the alleyway that he hadn't even noticed before. The boy wasn't moving. He was just sitting there in a position that he recognized. In clothes that he recognized. And when he realized that the boy's chest wasn't rising and falling, and that he had to be dead, a scream tried - and failed - to escape his lips.

That was him--

--Eyes widening in horror, Van went stumbling back into the tree behind him and let out a strange mix between a sob and a scream. The daydream - vision? nightmare? - had felt so real. It felt like he had actually died. Which he hadn't. He was alive, wasn't he?


Charlie stiffened as another scream - this one not a normal scream in the slightest - echoed throughout the forest.

"D-Did anyone hear that?" he asked, his voice shaking. His earlier arguments and comments were forgotten as he nervously looked in the noise's direction. "Do you...Do you think the woods have ghosts in them?"

Megara released the girl upon hearing the second scream. Was Briar nearby? People screamed a lot when Briar was near.

She rolled her eyes at the boy, "You have to be stupid to believe in ghosts," she said with the sass of someone with proof that ghosts really didn't exist, and walked past him toward the sound of the voice.

Walking only lasted a few steps, then she ran. She was fast. Even on her short little legs, she was fast enough to make to the source of the scream in only a few moments.

When she saw the boy, she frowned. He was clearly a street rat, a raggamuffin she had no business associating with without a purpose for doing that. That last time she'd spoken to someone like that she was pretending to be one of them.

She crossed her arms, "There's a lot of screaming going on today," she said with a roll of her eyes, "You'd better have a reason."



Forgotten by the golden-haired girl, Meketaten wanted to yell. She was so rude! She didn't even give her name!

Still, Meketaten found herself following. Maybe the person who screamed was more friendly.