shape-shifter sanctuary. ( open & accepting )

[bigwig.]

"𝓘'𝓶 𝓪𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓶𝓪𝓵,"

For centuries among humanity there have been certain individuals who possess the ability to change from their human state into the form of an animal. Nobody is quite sure why this happens - maybe it's genetics, a curse, some bizarre alignment of the planets, or simply random chance. But regardless, shape-shifters have lived among humans for a very long time, usually trying to hide their true nature and keep it a secret. In some cases, they have been spurned or hunted as abominations.

Only very recently, a call was put out to all shape-shifters. It spread slowly at first, mostly on whispers, but soon it had touched nearly every corner of the U.S., and some word had even spread beyond its borders. It spoke of a place out east, even giving exact coordinates, where shape-shifters were being summoned to gather. Allegedly, it was going to be a new settlement, founded from the remnants of an old one, consisting of only shape-shifters. A ghost town revitalized, and a haven for shape-shifters to be among their own kind. Without the need for such secrecy, without the fear of being discovered.

This promise has drawn a surprising number of shape-shifters to this town. They've decided to call it Sanctuary, as a testament to what it represents to them. But, of course, this utopia may not turn out to be all it was promised to be. They need to select from among themselves a leader, and other significant ranks. And they need to keep their town alive - everyone will have to work hard and cooperate. With so many people from so many different backgrounds here, will this settlement truly survive, or will conflict and distrust shatter their society before it becomes anything more?

"𝓨𝓸𝓾'𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓶𝓪𝓵 𝓽𝓸𝓸."

[bigwig.]

Ｒｕｌｅｓ.

➣ animal shifts can be any species you desire, as long as the animal is real (no mythical creatures - ex. unicorns, dragons, griffons) and currently living (no extinct animals - ex. dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, recently extinct animals).

➣ all posts should be at least a 5-7 sentence paragraph and easily understandable.

➣ this roleplay is LBGTQ+ friendly; all genders and sexualities are welcome here.

➣ please post all character forms on the discussion thread.

➣ there is currently no set form for characters. create your own - it can be as simple or as complex as you want - or copy mine. be sure to include basic information (name, gender, age, shift species, some picture or description of their appearance, some description of personality), and you can also include more advanced information if you want (birth date, where they're from, history/why they came here, other notable information).

➣ there is currently no limit to how many characters you can have, just make sure that you can handle the number you have/maintain decent posts with that many characters.

➣ characters may not start out as the leader/mayor or in any other significant position - those will be decided by the characters among themselves.

➣ try to keep characters decently varied and interesting. this roleplay is for semi-lit+ roleplayers, so I don't doubt that you guys can create complex characters, and remember that these shape-shifters come from a variety of places and a variety of different backgrounds.

[bigwig.]

"𝓘 𝓭𝓸 𝓶𝔂 𝓫𝓮𝓼𝓽, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓘'𝓶 𝓶𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓮𝓼."

welcome to Sanctuary, a somewhat beat-up little town that is, as of right now, inhabited by now more than some mice and roving sparrows and starlings. there are plenty of houses here, some having multiple bedrooms. ownership of them has not yet been designated, and may be a little ambiguous for a little while. right now, everyone is just a wanderer, and they have to decide amongst themselves who's going to do what - who's going to be a leader, who'll run the stores, and who'll get to doing other things - bringing in supplies, tending gardens, and trying to fix this place up to something livable.

characters are listed as name || gender || age || shift species || { - user.

the mayor
the leader of the settlement. responsible for all major decisions.
[ to be determined ]


the council
a small group of advisers who help rule and maintain the town, and debate with and advise their leader. if all or most of them agree, they can overrule their mayor's decisions.
[ to be determined ]

other roles to be defined and added.

the wanderers:
as of right now, everyone.

joseph elliot honeycutt || male || 48 || african lion || { - valentine.
ana foster || female || 12 || malayan flying fox || { - valentine.
myles carter || transmale || 18 || grizzly bear || { - valentine.

efe nagi || female || 19 || clouded leopard || { - Blackpearl44
hayato yamamoto || male || 19 || red fox || { - Blackpearl44

lirona kesk || female || 17 || tundra wolf || { - Shira Uchiha
shane alexander kesk || male || 17 || yukon wolf || { - Shira Uchiha
kira noland || female || 16 || red-tailed hawk || { - Shira Uchiha

ace meadows || female || 18 || snow leopard || { - *~Blizzard~*
xavier akitsu || male || 22 || black wolf || { - *~Blizzard~*

daniella henixe || female || 29 || lynx || { - Destinystwilight
jay henixe || male || 17 || kookaburra || { - Destinystwilight

navy parke || female || 20 || bengal tiger || { - MoonAero

phoebe van hayes || female || 17 || mountain lion || { - eli ayase

ace doe || 18 || genderfluid (she/they) || 18 || african bush elephant || { - Pidge Pidge
elliot miles || female || 21 || grevy's zebra || { - Pidge Pidge
leo winchester || transmale || 19 || red panda
reese winchester || male || 19 || red panda || { - Pidge Pidge

hermione amouteru || female || 18 || amur leopard || { - snitching.

scott davenport || male || 28 || moose || { - Crono

zoe capaldi || female || 18 || western diamondback rattlesnake || { - SoupPupped
danny heyman || male || 16 || african grey parrot || { - SoupPupped

[bigwig.]

♥ reserved - for perhaps a news board or anything else that's important. also, we're now open! remember to post forms on the discussion thread (link in the rules) }

[bigwig.]

Joseph Elliot Honeycutt - male - 48 - african lion - tags;

Here he was. The promised land. Joseph couldn't help but smile a little as he strode openly into the dusty space that sat between these scattered buildings. A ghost town now, but he could already see the splendor of a rebuilt Sanctuary, glowing in the soft morning sunlight. Never anything like a field of spun gold at the edge of a humid swamp, of course, but enough to bring a smile to his face. Joseph adjusted his tie and surveyed the area, thinking more about what it would take to fix up some of these houses and stores than wondering about the presence of anyone else. He felt like he could stride seamlessly into his inhuman form and walk without fear through this great empty space. There was hardly any other thought in his mind besides pride and idealism.

Hands on his hips, triumphantly surveying his surroundings, he began to wonder what kind of people a message like the one he'd received might attract. It'd been years since he'd spent any real length of time anywhere this far north. Plenty of people from all walks of life would be gathering here, drawn together by something that was decidedly vague. Undoubtedly, there would be plenty of things to smooth over between everyone. But he considered himself to be quite talented at things of that nature, and he had no lack of faith in his skill.

Ana Foster - female - 12 - flying fox - tags;

This was it, right? This was where the coordinates had led her. It had to be the place. Ana took a deep breath and brushed her wavy hair behind her ears. She could feel her heart pounding in her throat as she took a few more steps towards the ghost town that was, apparently, to become a sanctuary for...people like her. People who could shift. In all her life, she'd never seen anyone else do what she could do, so there was doubt in her mind that it was even possible. Her bookbag swayed slightly over her shoulder as she looked around with extreme caution. She didn't see too many things that looked like people here yet. Oh, god. Of course - this was the wrong place, or it was all a trap, or she really was the only person in the world who could really turn into an animal or she was really just crazy like she'd feared since she'd been separated from her mother.

She didn't dare call out to anyone, so she just kept slowly stepping forward, peering around the shadows of several of the buildings. Her beaten-up white sneakers crunched quietly against the ground, disturbing some old gravel. She'd pulled on her pink sweater before she'd made her last little journey; it was warm but not quite as warm as she would've liked it to be. It was designed more for looks than warmth. Ana kept her eyes traveling constantly, seeking to catch any sign of life she could find, but her trembling lips might as well have been sealed shut. Her weary breathing was labored but quieted, and her footsteps were slow and light, her muscles tensed and ready to kick into gear at the first sign of danger.

Myles Carter - male - 18 - brown bear - tags;

Smokey the bear. Funnily enough, Myles had always had some appreciation for that nickname, out of all the monikers he'd worn throughout his life. It was clever, at least.
A few silent wisps of smoke drifted from the end of Miles' cigarette as he stood with his back against the front of what he thought had once been a house. It was hard to tell now, especially because he hadn't yet tried to find his way into the interior. A gust of cool wind ran through his hair, blowing the scent of cigarette smoke away from him. Perhaps someone would smell it and know enough to tell that it was fresh. Perhaps not. This was supposed to become a sanctuary for shape-shifters? It didn't look much more like a sanctuary than where he'd been before. But he'd already decided that if nobody showed up (nobody, of course, besides that old man whose smile he already didn't trust), he'd just leave.

Miles held his cigarette between his fingers and sighed out a puff of toxic smoke. There already wasn't much left of it. His posture was relaxed, and he was standing in the open - indicating that he wasn't afraid, and that he had nothing to hide. Of course, that might not have been entirely true, but acting like he didn't have anything to hide was the first step to convincing anyone else of that same fact.

[MoonAero]

Navy Parke ~ 20 ~ Bengal Tiger

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Navy approached the first building that she had come across in miles. It was a small, wooden building that sat further behind the actual settlement. Years of sun and rain had begun to peel the paint off in random strips. She crossed the side of the worn building and reached a front porch where dead weeds lurked between broken boards and shifted concrete. She let her backpack slip off of her shoulders and onto the porch. For the first time in hours, Navy sat down. The porch creaked beneath her as she looked up to examine her surroundings. It was rather simple: a cluster of old buildings. It was hard to imagine making a life for herself here, but she knew that her location was correct. She allowed herself a few more breaths before she stood and began to saunter around nearby buildings. She longed to shift, but she wasn't sure if she should just yet.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[`sappho]

(♛) efe nagi
_________________________________
(female)(nineteen)(clouded leopard)(pansexual)(wearing)(tags; -)

even if efe was different she did have a car. a car that she had stuffed with all of her belongings to come to this sort of "promised land" for shape-shifters. she looked around the quiet town out of the windows of her car. it seemed like no one had been here for a hundred years. she started to feel uneasy but was careful because when she got nervous she would sometimes uncontrollably shift into her clouded leopard form. she clinched her fist on her steering wheel. she could see a lot of abandoned houses. she decided she would go ahead and park in the driveway of one. it couldn't really do any harm because she was almost certain no one lived in this town. hopefully, she would see some other shifter around soon but for now she parked her car and turned the key, listening to the engine calm down and eventually completely turn off.

efe pulled the handle of the car door and stepped out of her vehicle. her tall, black stiletto heels clicking against the concrete as she walked up to the house she had parked at. she looked at the paint on the house. there was hardly any of it left, but the small amount was baby blue. she ran her finger down the wood and felt that it was weak. if they were going to live here she would need to have a house that was in better shape and even then she would have to remodel the house.

(♛) hayato yamamoto
_________________________________
(male)(nineteen)(red fox)(pansexual)(wearing)(tags; myles)

hayato had been in the town for a bit and had found a house near a forest. the house was in okay shape from the outside but he knew there would be water damage on the inside since the roof needed to be redone. he took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall of the house. soon he would go into woods and see if anyone else was around. he knew that their should be more people here soon since this was suppose to be the paradise for shifters so surely other people would be here or would be arriving soon. he decided he would scout out the woods a bit. he took a deep breath and forced himself to shift into his red fox form. he padded down the stairs of the porch and followed his nose to the woods.

he carefully crossed the street and sped into the wood, hoping nothing would see him while he was out in the open. the horrid smell of a cigarette blew into his nose. he followed the fresh smell until he saw a man. he bristled a bit but stayed hidden. he didn't want the man to see him just yet but if he was a shifter it was possible that he would smell him.

[ataraxic_gone]

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕒 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕁𝕒𝕪
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Female Male || 29 17 || Lynx Kookaburra || Tags; Joseph

The wind whistled through Jay's feathers as he flew in the air. As he passed over the dilapidated town for the third time he noticed several new people approaching the town, no doubt shape shifters like he and his sister, he let out the signature kookaburra laugh to greet them. Content with his observations and feeling that there was no danger nearby he began flying down to land the roof of one of the buildings. Below Daniella was taking her time, examining every building and taking steps cautiously. Making out her brother's signature laugh she calmed down; she wasn't on her own anymore. Working up some movement and putting the memory of Eliss getting shot to the back of her mind she stood next to Joseph. Looking at him she noticed his rough shaving and began smiling, the style reminded her of the rough beard her step father always seemed to have. On the other hand the way he held himself reminded her of the first University professor. Shuffling she chuckled a laugh, "You remind me of some people I know," she chimed extending a hand to shake in greeting.
"Name's Dani or Daniella Henixe, if you want to be formal," the young lady added to her first statement. From behind her Jay launched into the air, performing several aeirial stunts. Once he was done showing off he flew down towards the ground shifting back into human form at the last moment. "And I'm Jay Henixe" the younger male said, his voice having the slightest tune of humour too it.

[Esther~]

Xavier Akitsu|Male|22|Black wolf|Tags: Hayato and Myles

Xavier walked on silently, a small breeze tugging at his black fur. He was on his way to a sanctuary of some sort, one for shape shifters such as himself. The travel had taken longer then expected and he was tired from his trip. However, he kept his gaze fixed ahead, knowing it wasn't to far off. Soon he spotted the town in the distance, not to much of a travel now. He wondered if others had already arrived, but his suspicions were soon confirmed as he saw a bird flying over the town. It could be a normal bird, or a shape shifter that had come a distance to see the sanctuary. He silently made his way toward the toward the town, hoping that others were already there.

The black wolf finally reached the town and gazed around, hoping to see friendly faces. He gazed around, not seeing any others nearby, but he knew there were others here. He could hear some voices, but they weren't exactly where he was. Keeping this in mind he walked off in search of others, wondering if they would be accepting of him. He halted once he detected a awful smell, fresh from a cigarette, causing him to give a small growl of disgust. Not to far off he saw the person who held the cigarette, a red fox not far off from him. He walked forward a bit, but stuck to the shadows, hoping he wouldn't be noticed just yet.

Ace Meadows|Female|18|Snow Leopard|Tags: Efe

Ace was outside of the town, gazing at it with uncertainty. She had heard of the place, but hadn't been to keen on the idea of a shape shifter sanctuary. If humans wanted to attack then it wouldn't be hard for them to do so. The town seemed to be well known, reaching the ears of everyone. This made the place seem vulnerable, open to attacks. She gave a small shake of her head, pushing the thought from her mind. She had came all this way, so she might as well check the place out.

Ace made her way into the town, expecting to see a few others. She wasn't surprised when she did spot a few, but didn't stop to talk. Instead she continued to walk around, observing the buildings and scenery. It would take work to rebuild this town, that was for sure. She soon noticed another female nearby, examining a house. Ace stood there for a few moments, uncertain if she wanted to approach her. Finally she had made up her mind and walked over to Efe."Taking a look around?"she asked curiously, wondering if this person had thoughts on staying.

[`sappho]

(♛) efe nagi
_________________________________
(female)(nineteen)(clouded leopard)(pansexual)(wearing)(tags; ace)

efe walked up the steps of the house that lead to the porch. before she actually went on the porch she pressed her foot down on a plank of wood that made up the porch. thankfully, she had done that because the plank of wood broke in half with and earsplitting crack! she cringed a bit as she pulled her heeled foot back from the wood. she stepped down from the stairs and walked back on the concrete. she looked around the outside of the house a bit and saw that there was graffiti made up of large bubble letter in red and black spray paint on the left wall of the house. she narrowed eyes, trying to make out what it said but she couldn't read it. if she was going to live here she would just cover it up anyways.

she walked back to the front of the house and turned her back to the rode, looking up at the house numbers that were on the house, near the roof. suddenly, there was a voice and her eyes flashed to yellow as she turned around. she was so close to shifting but calmed herself down when she saw it was a girl. she nodded. "yeah," she said. "are you looking around too?"

(♛) hayato yamamoto
_________________________________
(male)(nineteen)(red fox)(pansexual)(wearing)(tags; myles, xavier)

hayato sat down behind the tree. he didn't think it would be the best thing to hid too much longer. if they are all going to live here in peace they shouldn't be spying on each other. he was starting to think about what happened in his hometown. there had been shape-shifters there too but there was no peace between all of them. the shifters formed two gangs, the moon pack and the sun pack. this had been going on for about one hundred years so many people had been born into the gangs, just like hayato was. his father had been part of the sun gangs and so had his mother. his whole life he never wanted to be wrapped up in the fighting but there was nothing he could do to get out. if he left his gang and stayed in the same town he would have been considered a traitor and probably would have been killed. so he left and came to this town.

suddenly, a new scent drifted into his nose. it smelled like a wolf but it also smelled like a human. another shifter! he turned around and could pick out a form lurking in the shadows. "hello," he called, knowing only the wolf would be able to hear him since the other man was in his human form.