Characters 4 (NEW)
7/17/20
"Part four has finally arrived!
For those unaware, these are characters for a story I’m writing called Locals Only!. It’s set in the small Indiana town of Povey, in the year 1955. The story follows a group of locals who wish to purge their beloved home of the organized crime that threatens their safety, as missing persons reports and property damage cases have spiked dramatically in recent years. In doing so, they accidentally uncover a scheme much more dire than a couple of greasy teenagers who steal and destroy property. As it turns out, there's something in the forest by the lake that’s causing all those disappearances, and it becomes a race to stop whatever it is before anything worse can happen.
The characters on paper and the character descriptions below are respective, and in order.
*I may edit these biographies in the future if I don’t like them or if there are typos
Barnabe Howe
Barnes rarely speaks, but when he does, it’s in your best interest to listen. He is one of Avery’s inner circle, and is a town garbage man. Since he works for the city, he acts as an insider Avery can trust. He was in the Air Force with Avery, but served five years longer. Six feet and five inches tall, and with a deep, gruff voice to accompany it, Barnes’ imposing air isn’t unlikely to dissuade people from approaching him. He is strong in his convictions and wants nothing but to see the organized crime purged from his beloved home. This he keeps secret, of course, as is the very nature of the conspirators. Consequently, to the uninitiated he simply appears as an intimidating, dispassionate cur. If one were to sit down and initiate a conversation with the indomitable crow however, they would find that he is wise beyond his years, and has a large array of helpful advice to give. (Though much of it will seem vague at first. Barnes wants you to work for your conclusions and learn something.) It’s a shame that he seemingly only talks with three people consistently, none of which would be willing to accept guidance from anyone. Despite the infighting and squabbling over priorities within the group, Barnes still sticks by them, as to him they’re his best bet at liberating Povey.
Jonathan Wizzhunt
John is a local police officer, and one of the newer members of Avery’s group. He still lives with his parents, and like Avery, is very paranoid. That’s where their similarities end however, as the two don’t quite get along. The donkey fashions himself as a ‘realist’, disregarding Avery’s crackpot fabrications. In John’s eyes, the problem they face is very clear, and cut and dry: the town is under the boot of the mob. According to John, he’s done more research, and had more ‘real world experience’ than Avery. He has been enamored with crime-solving and police work since he was young. He would spend all his allowance as a kid on Dick Tracy comics, and hog the radio, eager to find the latest crime-drama. Given this inclination, it was only natural that he would go on to join the police force at the age of twenty-two. Imagine his surprise (and disappointment) when he discovered he wouldn’t be busting gangsters every other day, instead, organizing files in the archives. Feeling left out, he decided to start following the other officers in secret when they were on duty. Seeing that they all would meet up at a bar and slack off while he was supposed to be organizing papers only confirmed in his mind that they were keeping him from knowing something. Covering up for the gangsters? Bailing them out? Directly helping them?! Whatever the answer is, it has nothing to do with any of Avery’s psycho cult nonsense.
Harold Walton
Harold is Povey’s resident sheriff. Slow and calm, he treats every situation with the utmost diligence. Whether it be watching West Bend Drive for speeders, or guarding Old Brickford Lane from people going above the speed limit, or making sure Third Creek Street is safe from joyriders. When he’s not on duty (or when he is but doesn’t feel like sleeping on the side of a quiet road), he can be found at The General, a military-themed bar where the local law enforcement congregates. What he doesn’t get is why the new recruit keeps calling the bar’s phone asking for him, or how he always knows he’s there. Harold will always tell him the same thing: he was called for emergency backup in Vonneville (between mouthfuls of pretzels) and that the filing cabinets need sorting. He just can’t be left alone. Either it’s John interrupting his game of pool to ask a question he hasn’t the answer for, or it’s his wife messing up his dart throw to tell him the lawn needs mowing. “Why can’t the next call say I won the lottery,” Harold says. With as clear he makes his annoyance with the unending disturbances, you’d think he’d be less enthusiastic to answer the dial. But even though it’s usually someone out to interfere with his leisure, there’s the chance that it’s from Richard Dunhurst, who pays him to ignore the doings of his personal thugs. And a missed call from him surely wouldn’t be worth winning a game of pool over.
Leonard Rowe
In his day, Leonard was possibly the best officer on the force. He could round up thirty crooks in forty-eight hours! But his day was about fifteen years ago. Nowadays the croc can be seen taking calls from behind the police station’s front desk, half asleep and snout buried in a crime novel, wanting to go back before he had mild arthritis. John Wizzhunt looks up to him as he followed his investigations closely via news reports when he was more active, and even asks him for advice. Such advice is rarely answered meaningfully, or more than half awake for that matter. Like most of his fellow officers, he enjoys spending leisure time at The General, and leaving the entire station to the rookie. Besides answering calls, Leonard is also the keymaster of the station, and holds onto the cell keys, among other important tools. One such tool is the typewriter in the break room. Most officers have assigned typewriters at their desks for writing reports, but the one in the breakroom is considered the best, but is locked away in a suitcase. (He uses his awesome key privileges to write his memoir).
Kenneth Yates
Ken isn’t really suited to be a policeman, let alone a deputy, but they keep him around because he gets discounts at The General. He’s very nervous and unconfident, and can barely shoot a gun. The other officers make jokes at his expense, which always go over his head without fail. A well-meaning follower at heart, he’s only good for being ordered around. Given his naivety, he’s one of the few that don’t come across as condescending to John (unless of course everyone else is and he just goes along with it). In fact, he’s the closest thing John’s got to a friend at the station. That’s not to say they’re especially close, but they can at least have (one-sided) conversations, even if it all goes in one ear and out the other with Ken. All he does is in earnest, so getting mad wouldn’t be right. He has some insight into his lack of understanding; he isn’t very sharp, and he understands this to some degree. Many miss this, so he’s capable of surprising some people from time to time. If only he had insight into other people, he might ditch the sheriff and see the corruption which strangles the local law enforcement.
Wilbur and Ruth Lewandowski
Wilbur and Ruth are the father and mother of Alice, Toby, and Billy. They live a few miles north of Povey in the lake resort town, Cedarside. Wilbur runs The General and occasionally takes tips from Richard to give the police holed up there. Keeping this small exchange under wraps, he lives a rather normal and unassuming life, his time spent bartending, fishing, or golfing. He’s very lenient, unless sports are involved. He goes to every one of Toby’s games, and forced Billy to join teams up until Billy started purposely sabotaging games in order to be dropped.
Equally sports driven as her husband, Ruth was responsible for putting Alice in tennis. She only visits The General if she absolutely needs to, since she isn’t fond of the rude and loud barflies. Because of this, she is unaware of Wilbur’s legally and morally questionable dealings, but has her suspicions. Such suspicions are easily forgotten though, through daily household chores and daytime hospital drama television programs.
Herbert Adkins
Mr. Adkins controls St. Thomas Senior High School with an iron fist. Or as much as he’s allowed to anyway. He’d love to crush the three greasers who cause all the school’s problems and just be done with it, but the powers that be who breathe down his neck prevent him from doing this. Powerless, he instead chooses to lash out at every other student instead. As much as he doesn’t like the situation, he doesn’t make much of an effort to stop it either; after all, what’s he gonna do about it? He’s already got his own kids (conveniently going to a different school) to worry about. It’s much easier to simply yell at everyone else. Especially the perceived jocks, who are the motivation behind many of The Royal’s schemes. He has much more bark than bite thankfully, so many of the more serious threats he does make are usually hollow. That doesn’t mean he isn’t intimidating though. Herbert’s been known to make students take up the groundskeeper’s duties for a week, or sanitize the locker rooms, or make students paint his house. Truly a force to be reckoned with.
Callahan Vance
Callahan is St. Thomas Senior High’s football coach. Soft spoken, amiable, and full of wisdom, he acts as somewhat of a father figure to Toby while he’s away at school. He seems to know more than he shows, routinely leaving sentences incomplete as he trails off, lost in thought. He offers help and advice to Toby when he senses he needs it, and defends him whenever he’s spoken poorly of. Like most Povelians, he shares a hate for their rival town, Palaski, and only sheds his relaxed comportment when facing off against them particularly in a game. Callahan resorts to snapping clipboards or ripping off his whistle and stomping it into the ground during matches, even when they’re winning; and once it’s over, not unlike Dr. Jekyll, he reverts to his usual cool and collected demeanor, as if nothing ever happened.
More to come!"
"Part four has finally arrived!
For those unaware, these are characters for a story I’m writing called Locals Only!. It’s set in the small Indiana town of Povey, in the year 1955. The story follows a group of locals who wish to purge their beloved home of the organized crime that threatens their safety, as missing persons reports and property damage cases have spiked dramatically in recent years. In doing so, they accidentally uncover a scheme much more dire than a couple of greasy teenagers who steal and destroy property. As it turns out, there's something in the forest by the lake that’s causing all those disappearances, and it becomes a race to stop whatever it is before anything worse can happen.
The characters on paper and the character descriptions below are respective, and in order.
*I may edit these biographies in the future if I don’t like them or if there are typos
Barnabe Howe
Barnes rarely speaks, but when he does, it’s in your best interest to listen. He is one of Avery’s inner circle, and is a town garbage man. Since he works for the city, he acts as an insider Avery can trust. He was in the Air Force with Avery, but served five years longer. Six feet and five inches tall, and with a deep, gruff voice to accompany it, Barnes’ imposing air isn’t unlikely to dissuade people from approaching him. He is strong in his convictions and wants nothing but to see the organized crime purged from his beloved home. This he keeps secret, of course, as is the very nature of the conspirators. Consequently, to the uninitiated he simply appears as an intimidating, dispassionate cur. If one were to sit down and initiate a conversation with the indomitable crow however, they would find that he is wise beyond his years, and has a large array of helpful advice to give. (Though much of it will seem vague at first. Barnes wants you to work for your conclusions and learn something.) It’s a shame that he seemingly only talks with three people consistently, none of which would be willing to accept guidance from anyone. Despite the infighting and squabbling over priorities within the group, Barnes still sticks by them, as to him they’re his best bet at liberating Povey.
Jonathan Wizzhunt
John is a local police officer, and one of the newer members of Avery’s group. He still lives with his parents, and like Avery, is very paranoid. That’s where their similarities end however, as the two don’t quite get along. The donkey fashions himself as a ‘realist’, disregarding Avery’s crackpot fabrications. In John’s eyes, the problem they face is very clear, and cut and dry: the town is under the boot of the mob. According to John, he’s done more research, and had more ‘real world experience’ than Avery. He has been enamored with crime-solving and police work since he was young. He would spend all his allowance as a kid on Dick Tracy comics, and hog the radio, eager to find the latest crime-drama. Given this inclination, it was only natural that he would go on to join the police force at the age of twenty-two. Imagine his surprise (and disappointment) when he discovered he wouldn’t be busting gangsters every other day, instead, organizing files in the archives. Feeling left out, he decided to start following the other officers in secret when they were on duty. Seeing that they all would meet up at a bar and slack off while he was supposed to be organizing papers only confirmed in his mind that they were keeping him from knowing something. Covering up for the gangsters? Bailing them out? Directly helping them?! Whatever the answer is, it has nothing to do with any of Avery’s psycho cult nonsense.
Harold Walton
Harold is Povey’s resident sheriff. Slow and calm, he treats every situation with the utmost diligence. Whether it be watching West Bend Drive for speeders, or guarding Old Brickford Lane from people going above the speed limit, or making sure Third Creek Street is safe from joyriders. When he’s not on duty (or when he is but doesn’t feel like sleeping on the side of a quiet road), he can be found at The General, a military-themed bar where the local law enforcement congregates. What he doesn’t get is why the new recruit keeps calling the bar’s phone asking for him, or how he always knows he’s there. Harold will always tell him the same thing: he was called for emergency backup in Vonneville (between mouthfuls of pretzels) and that the filing cabinets need sorting. He just can’t be left alone. Either it’s John interrupting his game of pool to ask a question he hasn’t the answer for, or it’s his wife messing up his dart throw to tell him the lawn needs mowing. “Why can’t the next call say I won the lottery,” Harold says. With as clear he makes his annoyance with the unending disturbances, you’d think he’d be less enthusiastic to answer the dial. But even though it’s usually someone out to interfere with his leisure, there’s the chance that it’s from Richard Dunhurst, who pays him to ignore the doings of his personal thugs. And a missed call from him surely wouldn’t be worth winning a game of pool over.
Leonard Rowe
In his day, Leonard was possibly the best officer on the force. He could round up thirty crooks in forty-eight hours! But his day was about fifteen years ago. Nowadays the croc can be seen taking calls from behind the police station’s front desk, half asleep and snout buried in a crime novel, wanting to go back before he had mild arthritis. John Wizzhunt looks up to him as he followed his investigations closely via news reports when he was more active, and even asks him for advice. Such advice is rarely answered meaningfully, or more than half awake for that matter. Like most of his fellow officers, he enjoys spending leisure time at The General, and leaving the entire station to the rookie. Besides answering calls, Leonard is also the keymaster of the station, and holds onto the cell keys, among other important tools. One such tool is the typewriter in the break room. Most officers have assigned typewriters at their desks for writing reports, but the one in the breakroom is considered the best, but is locked away in a suitcase. (He uses his awesome key privileges to write his memoir).
Kenneth Yates
Ken isn’t really suited to be a policeman, let alone a deputy, but they keep him around because he gets discounts at The General. He’s very nervous and unconfident, and can barely shoot a gun. The other officers make jokes at his expense, which always go over his head without fail. A well-meaning follower at heart, he’s only good for being ordered around. Given his naivety, he’s one of the few that don’t come across as condescending to John (unless of course everyone else is and he just goes along with it). In fact, he’s the closest thing John’s got to a friend at the station. That’s not to say they’re especially close, but they can at least have (one-sided) conversations, even if it all goes in one ear and out the other with Ken. All he does is in earnest, so getting mad wouldn’t be right. He has some insight into his lack of understanding; he isn’t very sharp, and he understands this to some degree. Many miss this, so he’s capable of surprising some people from time to time. If only he had insight into other people, he might ditch the sheriff and see the corruption which strangles the local law enforcement.
Wilbur and Ruth Lewandowski
Wilbur and Ruth are the father and mother of Alice, Toby, and Billy. They live a few miles north of Povey in the lake resort town, Cedarside. Wilbur runs The General and occasionally takes tips from Richard to give the police holed up there. Keeping this small exchange under wraps, he lives a rather normal and unassuming life, his time spent bartending, fishing, or golfing. He’s very lenient, unless sports are involved. He goes to every one of Toby’s games, and forced Billy to join teams up until Billy started purposely sabotaging games in order to be dropped.
Equally sports driven as her husband, Ruth was responsible for putting Alice in tennis. She only visits The General if she absolutely needs to, since she isn’t fond of the rude and loud barflies. Because of this, she is unaware of Wilbur’s legally and morally questionable dealings, but has her suspicions. Such suspicions are easily forgotten though, through daily household chores and daytime hospital drama television programs.
Herbert Adkins
Mr. Adkins controls St. Thomas Senior High School with an iron fist. Or as much as he’s allowed to anyway. He’d love to crush the three greasers who cause all the school’s problems and just be done with it, but the powers that be who breathe down his neck prevent him from doing this. Powerless, he instead chooses to lash out at every other student instead. As much as he doesn’t like the situation, he doesn’t make much of an effort to stop it either; after all, what’s he gonna do about it? He’s already got his own kids (conveniently going to a different school) to worry about. It’s much easier to simply yell at everyone else. Especially the perceived jocks, who are the motivation behind many of The Royal’s schemes. He has much more bark than bite thankfully, so many of the more serious threats he does make are usually hollow. That doesn’t mean he isn’t intimidating though. Herbert’s been known to make students take up the groundskeeper’s duties for a week, or sanitize the locker rooms, or make students paint his house. Truly a force to be reckoned with.
Callahan Vance
Callahan is St. Thomas Senior High’s football coach. Soft spoken, amiable, and full of wisdom, he acts as somewhat of a father figure to Toby while he’s away at school. He seems to know more than he shows, routinely leaving sentences incomplete as he trails off, lost in thought. He offers help and advice to Toby when he senses he needs it, and defends him whenever he’s spoken poorly of. Like most Povelians, he shares a hate for their rival town, Palaski, and only sheds his relaxed comportment when facing off against them particularly in a game. Callahan resorts to snapping clipboards or ripping off his whistle and stomping it into the ground during matches, even when they’re winning; and once it’s over, not unlike Dr. Jekyll, he reverts to his usual cool and collected demeanor, as if nothing ever happened.
More to come!"
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