tapped

LOVELL UNIVERSITY NEWS BLAST: 01/25/2018

“The Murder of Marcus Abernthay is a topic that has been hot on all of our lips in the last few days. The mysterious unveiling of the body, and the subsequent ominous defacing of his memorial portrait, have proven that this case is not going to be cut and dry. What seems most likely, from the perspective of us lowly students, is that someone is seeking vengeance for Marcus Abernathy in the most dramatic of ways. They do not want Marcus to go gentle into that good night, they want Marcus to go out with a bang and not a whimper. Our very own campus Avenger. 

This seems to be particularly troubling to many students, as well as law enforcement. Our culprit doesn’t seem interested in going through the standard protocols to bring Marcus’ killer to justice. In a comment from Brian Williams, it was expressed that no one on campus should support the theatrics of whoever vandalised Marcus’ tribute or staged his body. ‘These are the actions of someone petty and childish. We would urge whoever is doing this to make their way directly to the Lovell Police Department to speak with detectives about the case. We would also ask students not to encourage this vandal from continuing on with these illicit activities. Justice is not meant to be gained through the dramatics of one vengeful citizen, and should be pursued through the proper channels.’ 

Williams also vowed to supply the Lovell Police Department with any and everything they need to solve the case of Marcus Abernathy: ‘If they can be helped by our resources, they will be helped. All of our students should follow suit, and remember that if they see any suspicious activity, they should report it immediately.’ 

It is hard, as students that have been trained to be curious and inquisitive in everything we do, not to want to dig deeper into the mystery surrounding this case. It is in our nature to want to know every secret, to enjoy the theatrics. Still, the words of our Dean do hold reason, and above all else we must want justice for Marcus.”  – The Lovell University Times published the morning of January 25rd, 2018, two days after the vigil. 

     [ANONYMOUS USER: I dunno lads. This is like watching a teen drama on MTV. I’d rather this than a boring investigation. At least this way it might get solved!] 2 likes. 0 replies.

     [RED AVENGER: The police are useless idiots. Just sit back and let daddy do the leg work. If you’re good boys and girls, I might drop another clue soon.] 26 likes. 13 replies.

EVENT 001: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES LOCATION: FRONT SQUARE, LOVELL UNIVERSITY DATE: JANUARY 23rd, 2018

The chill of January is still hanging heavy in the air, an aura of gloom and doom settled in a thick fog all around campus. Death came to call three days ago, and no one has quite managed to shake off the shock of it, the grim reminder that your mortal lives were fleeting and limited, and the implication that something malicious  lived at Lovell three years ago, preying on your peers. It’s like a dementors kiss, sucking all the joy that may have been remaining from your Yuletide festivities. You need something to bring life back into your life, need a reason to find hope in the darkness. 

When you need for something, Lovell provides. When Lovell loses something, it mourns and pays its respects with a fever unparalleled by anybody else. Part of you thinks its silly, but as you walk through campus in the freezing cold, you can start to feel the aura of community warming your bones. You’re all here, together, as a school, saying goodbye to someone who came before you, who left too soon. You’re not sure who’s idea this was, the Vigil. It’s a nice one, regardless of who dreamed it up. (“Jeez, if this is the treatment a dead dude from three years ago gets, remind me to kick the bucket before I graduate...”) 

Front square is a sea of delicate candle flames. It’s not a sight you’ll ever forget, but then again, nothing about this night is exactly forgettable. You stand shoulder to shoulder with your fellow students, you listen with careful ears as your Dean of Students, detectives, and fellow students talk about Marcus. Melancholic, but inspiring a certain sense of community on a campus that can sometimes seem divided right down the middle. They say that they’ve commissioned a portrait of Marcus, to be hung on honour of his life. It’s almost smarmy, the idea. Marcus had lived at Lovell for a handful of years and from what you’ve heard and seen about him, he was no saint. But you suppose that when a man turns up dead on the cobbled stones of a campus, the administration is going to do everything possible to stay in the good books of the family. 

A new kind of silence spreads over the crowd when they pull the cover off the tribute. Blue sheet pulled away to reveal the portrait and, in stark contrast, the red writing scrawled over its surface, a perfect mirror of what had been scrawled around the body when it had been discovered. “I KNOW WHO KILLED ME.”

LOVELL UNIVERSITY NEWS BLAST: 01/23/2018

“Marcus Abernathy is a name that has haunted the halls of Lovell University for more than three years. Even those of us who never had the chance to know him know his story. An incredibly talented sportsman, an intelligent student, a loyal friend, a brother to one and all. Marcus Abernathy held up the ideal of Lovell at every opportunity. When Marcus disappeared, we were all of us shaken, and for the last three years we have been lacking something intrinsic to ourselves because of his absence. All that we could hope was that someday, Marcus’ story would find some closure, that he would return home safe and heal the various wounds that had been left by his disappearance. While we did get the closure we all wanted, the end of this story is not as happy as we would have liked. The heart of each and every Lovell student goes out to Marcus today, and to his family. Those wishing to pay their respects to him, and share their prayers, are welcome to gather together in Front Square for a candle-lit vigil tonight, at 9pm.” – The Lovell University Times, an article about the disappearance and death of Marcus Abernathy, published the morning of January 23rd, 2018. 

     [ANONYMOUS COMMENTER: Yeah right. Like i’m going to pretend that M.A wasn’t a racist, homophobic asshole. We don’t have to start kissing his ass now just cause the dude is dead.] 4 likes. 2 replies.

Lovell was supposed to be a sleepy college town --- no one could have anticipated the horrors that would unfold on its streets, the grim shadows that would take over the lives of its inhabitants. Murder and intrigue should have been alien concepts there, but now they’re the order of the day. Ever since the body of Marcus Abernathy showed up on the grounds of the University, Lovell has been thrown into turmoil. Everybody wants to know who did it, how it happened, why someone would dump the body there three long years after Marcus disappeared in the first place, why someone would have killed him in the first place. With too many suspects to count, there is only one question on everybody’s lips: 

                                            DID YOU DO IT? 

THE BASICS;

NAME: Nathan St Leger AGE: Twenty Five Years Old. MEMBERSHIP: Gravemakers FACECLAIM: Domhall Gleeson STATUS: Taken

THE STORY;

You aren’t exactly sure what you are. Some people’s lives seem so clear cut, but you’ve always seen yours as a bit of a haze. Not an easy childhood, but not the hardest, you know that. You know that things can always get worse, that even when your mother struggled to feed and clothe you, there were people struggling harder. You work hard, you try to be grateful for everything you have, and it gets you to good places. Lovell is a whirlwind, and you feel important there. You find good friends, find mystery, find some excitement. You don’t fully buy into the cloak and dagger of it all, but it’s good fun, and you’re a good leader when your turn comes about. Your friends have always needed someone to ground them. Outside Lovell, you feel less special. Life is normal, average, not exactly what you thought it would be. You’ve been shaken up and let down, and you’re just doing your best to live a normal life, that’s all you want to do.  

THE BASICS;

NAME: Jack Farrell AGE: Twenty Two Years Old. MEMBERSHIP: Gravemaker FACECLAIM: Keith Powers STATUS: Taken

THE STORY;

Your Pa was a gunslinger through and through, the leader of his own kingdom of rags. His rule was a strict one, precise movements and memories and motions. Do this, do that, go here, run back. You’ve never been good at being ruthless, you’ve never followed orders the way that was expected of you, a lousy son for a man like that. A court jester was about all you could amount to being, a creature of loud laughs and rude jokes. A defence mechanism, maybe. If you can’t join them, you might as well make them laugh. Their future didn’t hold much for you, though, and you knew it never would. You would, eventually, have to make it on your own. Lovell presents a different kind of world, an escape from the cruel and twisted reality of your father’s kingdom. At Lovell, no one expects you to be vicious and quick and cruel. There is no reason to rely entirely on the parody you have made of yourself. At Lovell you find people who appreciate you for what you are: a happy medium between the absurd and the street-smart. 

THE BASICS;

NAME: Imogen Adani AGE: Eighteen Years Old. MEMBERSHIP: Pax Aurea FACECLAIM: Naomi Scott STATUS: Taken

THE STORY;

You’ve always been blessed. A good life. A good family. A mother and father who adore you above all else. They were sensible people, though, and you were always a bit more whimsical. You were blessed, you had a good life, but it was never enough for you. You don’t want to live an average life. You want to be awe-inspiring. You want to be spectacular, the eight wonder of the world. You want to shake people and make them love you, make it impossible for them to ignore you. A life of fame is calling to you, your name up in lights, your story scrawled in history books a hundred years from now. Pax Aurea is a door to the amazing, and while you accepted them into your life, you can’t let go of the knowledge that The Gravemakers wanted you too. You made your choice, but how can you know if it was the right one? If you don’t know who you are, how are you supposed to become who you want? If you’re not standing on steady ground, what is to stop everything from falling out from under your feet. 

THE FACTS;

NAME: Laurel Silva AGE: Twenty Two Years Old MEMBERSHIP: The Gravemakers FACECLAIM: Sky Ferreira STATUS: Taken ** This character is a transgender woman. 

THE STORY;

You have a legacy in your heart, just like your father and grandfather did before you. They were part of something great. In another world, this legacy would have brought you everything you needed, would have handed you a life on a silver platter. But for the Gravemakers, a legacy is nothing, you have to earn your place. Social capital runs out and old money slips from your families fingertips like sand through a fist. You’ve had to be a scrappy one, knowing you won’t get anywhere in the world if you don’t fight your way there. You are the only legacy those who came before you have left, and you know you can’t waste it. You have to carry it with you and make them proud. You are a vicious girl because that is how they raised you, as a beast that would last longer than all other things. You are a dragon, built to defend castles and honours and princesses in towers. You were made to move mountains, set knights ablaze, watch the world with hawkish eyes. You were never meant to be a soft thing -- you were made to kill for softness.

THE BASICS;

NAME: Xander Desai  AGE: Twenty One Years Old. MEMBERSHIP: Gravemakers FACECLAIM: Avan Jogia STATUS: Taken **This character is nonbinary.

THE STORY;

Boys like you are always meant to be more of a pauper than a prince, were meant to be clothed in rags and choking on dirt, a slave to those who ascended higher than you. You would work yourself to the bone for all your life, until finally death took you. It never seemed fair, and It took far too long to grow a fire in your heart, to stoke the flames of rage until it roared through your veins, thrashing and gnawing at the injustice of your life. It takes time, but eventually you take your first fledgling steps towards freedom, hands quick and eyes sharp and mind whirling. You learn how to ravage, how to sow regret with every step you take. You become a pirate, shapes yourself into a prince of thieves, a figure fit to have a sword in your hand and gold in your pockets and blood on your hands. You have spent years learning how to make yourself a weapon, and you would happily use every ounce of yourself to protect that which has been built for your, safe in the knowledge that your band of brothers would do the same, that their hearts all beat on one wavelength and their minds all share one idea. The Gravemakers are your destiny, and you will always fight for them.

Victim Profile: 

AGE: 20 years old at time of death. 

DOB:  15th of March, 1995

PLACE OF BIRTH: Westchester County, New York. 

HAIR COLOUR: Black

EYE COLOUR: Brown

ETNICITY: Caucasian 

FATHER: Jeremiah Abernathy 

MOTHER: Michelle Abernathy 

SIBLINGS: Paula Abernathy, William Abernathy

PERSONALITY: Marcus Abernathy has been described as intelligent and charming as well as self-assured and entitled, prejudiced and particularly rude. Some classmates and frat brothers have called him narcissistic, one even going so far as to say that Marcus was a pathological liar who would do anything to impress someone. 

Disappearance:

Marcus Abernathy was reported missing on the morning of January the 14th, 2015.  This report was filed by one Mr. Logan Ainsley, reportedly an acquaintance of Mr. Abernathy. Mr. Ainsley informed the Lovell Police Department that Marcus Ainsley had not been seen for a number of days, and that people were beginning to grow worried for him. This information was later corroborated by various Professors at Lovell, as well as several members of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. 

It was reported by Scarlett Smith, a student at Lovell University, that Marcus Abernathy was seen in a heated argument with two male students about four days before he was reported missing. These students are believed to be Nathan St. Leger and Jonathan Marko. The two boys were initially rather vague as to the reason for their argument, but later admitted that they had been angry with Marcus due to his relationship with one of their female friends, a freshman girl whom they believed was being taken advantage of.

Marcus Abernathy attended a Delta Kappa Epsilon party at their fraternity house on the night of January the 12th, 2015. No one at this party reports any suspicious activity, nor did anyone remember seeing Marcus in any trouble. One fraternity brother, Lawrence Keller, reported that Marcus left the party with a girl. He did not know who this girl was, but he did suggest that it was not an infrequent occurrence for Marcus to accompany a girl home if she were too intoxicated to get there herself. 

The search for Marcus has been ongoing for the last three years. There have been various leads, many linking back to St. Leger and Marko, who have been considered people of interest in the cace since its inception.

Various students have come forward to report altercations they witnessed between Marcus and other students. Many others have confirmed that they were one of the many reported victims of Marcus’s entitled nature and refusal to take no for an answer. Female students in particular seem particularly uncomfortable with the memory of Marcus Abernathy. 

Summary of Events, January 16th 2018.

The remains of Marcus Abernathy were discovered by four students of Lovell University at about 7:30am in the morning. These four students have been identified as Yaz Brekker, Wesley Ryan, Tilly Tompson, and Alberto Alvarez. 

It has been established that these students entered Lovell Campus at about 7:00 am, intending to conduct an interview for the Lovell University Times on the subject of Fraternity life at Lovell. These students report that they noticed the remains of the victim as they made their way toward’s the newspaper building. They stopped, thinking the scene to be some sort of prank. Upon further inspection, they realised that something was very wrong indeed, and assuming the body to belong to Mr. Abernathy, promptly called the authorities. 

As police offers and crime scene investigators did their work at the crime scene, Lovell’s Front Square was closed off for 24 hours. The remains found at the scene were confirmed to be those of Mr. Marcus Abernathy by lab technicians. It was ascertained that Mr. Abernathy has been dead for a number of years, the cause of death is murder by blunt force trauma. 

These remains must have been placed at the scene between the hours of 1am and 6am. During these hours, access to Lovell Campus is extremely limited to those not in residence. Security cameras picked up no sign of whoever staged the body or painted their message on the cobble stones. 

Interviews are to be conducted with every student that had a connection to Marcus Abernathy, or anyone reported as acting suspiciously over the last two weeks. Suspects in the original missing persons case have been called back in to Lovell town to undergo questioning. 

THE BASICS;

NAME: Katrina Ramsey AGE: Nineteen Years Old. MEMBERSHIP: Gravemakers FACECLAIM: Paulina Singer STATUS: Taken

THE STORY;

You are a prodigy. That is what you have always been. The smartest person in the room, your untapped potential setting you apart from everybody else your age. You were always different, always special, always the best, and you knew it. Its not always easy, but its who you are. Your mother and father encouraged you and you ran head first into your life, knowing that you could get anywhere you wanted with the brain in your head. You could get into any school, you could get any job. You worked hard and studied hard, but never really played hard. You weren’t exciting in a way that made other people want to be friends with you, so you don’t know what changed when you got to University. People at Lovell were exciting, and you wanted to be like them. They’re giving you a chance now, the Gravemakers, to be something different than you were before.  

THE BASICS;

NAME: Cecilia Beaux AGE: Twenty-One, born January 19th 1996 MEMBERSHIP: The Gravemakers (Current President) FACECLAIM: Troian Bellisario STATUS: Taken

THE STORY;

Some girls are touched by death. Haunted and hunted by it, its roots sunken deep into their very hearts in an attempt to blacken them. Even your parents felt the burden of it on their shoulders, the dark shadow that has followed their daughter since the day you were born, clinging to your skin, unwilling to set you free. Your childhood stinks of damp and cold and death, old books and rotting leaves and feathers floating in through your open windows. Your mama said that you were cursed. You don’t want to be cursed, you want to be the smartest, the quickest, the most important. You want to go down in history, but only for the right reasons. You want to be remembered as bright and beautiful, not clouded by the smell of rot and the dampness of the woods. Lovell seems like it might offer an escape, but the grimness of life follows you there, too. Classes and parties might blur together until they look like light, but it becomes clear that you can’t escape the shadows. The Gravemakers, at least, offer a true home. They understand you, even if they don’t know the extent of your hauntedness. You’re King Arthur, and they’re you’re knights, and you know you’d kill for them.