Shanna Merritt (A New Life in Ashwick)

Shanna Merritt is an eighteen-year-old young woman with a petite, slender, and lanky frame, giving her an androgynous appearance. She has narrow subtle hips and a small A cup chest. She has extremely long, wavy brown hair that reaches just past her waist, often messy, unkempt, and slightly greasy, as she doesn’t concern herself with grooming. Her very pale skin enhances her eerie aesthetic, making her seem almost otherworldly, especially when paired with her deep, contemplative eyes that always appear distant and observant. She has a rounded face with soft yet sharp features, framed by thick, natural eyebrows that she has never plucked or shaped. Her expressions are subtle and restrained, giving her an air of quiet detachment that makes it difficult for others to read her emotions.

Shanna’s style is deeply Victorian-gothic, favoring long, flowing black dresses that pool at her feet. The high neckline is trimmed with lace, and her long sleeves taper into delicate cuffs, adding to her antique, melancholic aesthetic. Unlike most who embrace gothic fashion, she wears no jewelry, no earrings, and no embellishments—she has no interest in adornment. Her black, scuffed boots are practical rather than stylish, reflecting her pragmatic approach to life. Though she looks as though she belongs to another time, she exists firmly in the modern world, moving through it like a shadow, detached and indifferent.

Indifferent to beauty standards, Shanna does not shave or groom her body hair, letting it grow naturally and untrimmed. Her arm hair is light brown, fine but visible, while her leg hair is medium brown, denser on the lower legs and slightly lighter on the thighs. Her underarm hair is fully grown, dark brown, and naturally curled, while her pubic hair is dark brown, thick, untrimmed, and slightly wild, extending slightly beyond the bikini line and covering her innie labia. She has never plucked her thick, slightly uneven eyebrows, reinforcing her low-maintenance attitude.

Her underwear is purely functional, chosen for comfort over style. She wears a plain black, unpadded, wireless bra with no lace and full-coverage black cotton briefs that are slightly stretched from wear, featuring a cartoon bat design—perhaps the only hint of playfulness in her wardrobe.

Her personality is quiet, intelligent, and deeply introspective. Shanna prefers listening over speaking, absorbing the world around her with a keen, almost eerie level of awareness. She is drawn to the supernatural, folklore, and the unexplained, often losing herself in gothic literature and cryptid lore. She has a dry, morbid sense of humor, making deadpan remarks about death and the absurdity of life, often leaving others unsure whether she’s joking. Emotionally, she is guarded and self-reliant, rarely expressing vulnerability, and prefers solitude over forced social interactions. While she may seem cold or distant, there is a quiet loneliness beneath her withdrawn nature, though she would never admit it.

Shanna expresses herself through music, though not skillfully. She plays violin and acoustic guitar and enjoys writing sad-sounding songs, but she isn’t particularly good at any of it. Recently, she acquired an electric bass guitar, though she hasn’t dedicated much time to learning it. Her music, much like her personality, is moody, melancholic, and introspective—something she does for herself rather than for others. She also keeps a personal journal, filling its pages with poetry, cryptid sightings, and eerie sketches.

Shanna interacts with others sparingly. With strangers, she is polite but distant, rarely engaging beyond necessity. With acquaintances, she offers dry, blunt responses, speaking only when necessary. If she were to form a genuine friendship, it would be a slow, careful process, built on shared silences rather than deep conversations. She tends to ignore those who annoy her, but if pressed, she responds with sharp sarcasm and a withering stare. She follows rules only when necessary, preferring to exist on her own terms rather than conform to expectations.

Despite her detachment and morbid sense of humor, there is a certain haunting beauty to the way she experiences the world. She finds comfort in eerie, forgotten places, enjoys nighttime walks, and embraces the quiet sadness of existence. Shanna Merritt is a loner by choice, an observer of life rather than an active participant, someone who finds beauty in the dark, the quiet, and the things others fear to acknowledge.

Ashwick is a small suburban town where the past meets the present. As you walk down the tree-lined streets, the charm of older homes and historical buildings still stands, though the creeping force of modernity is hard to ignore. Newer developments, with their clean lines and bright facades, blend awkwardly with the weathered Victorian houses and brick storefronts, as if the town is trying to hold on to its old-world charm while reluctantly embracing the progress of the present.

Town description: The town of Ashwick is quiet and peaceful, especially during the early morning or evening hours, when the streets are empty, and the only sounds are the rustling of leaves in the breeze or the gentle flow of the brook that winds its way through the middle of town. The modern high school stands at the town’s edge, where teenagers gather during the day, but its concrete halls and metal fences feel out of place against the more quaint surroundings. The local library is a combination of old and new, with its historical architecture and a modernized interior, offering a wealth of knowledge about the town's history, including its cryptic past.

Key Locations in Ashwick:

• A gentle, winding stream cuts through the center of Ashwick, the brook is a peaceful yet central part of the town. It is lined with weeping willows and old stone bridges, creating a picturesque atmosphere. Despite its charm, the water sometimes has a strange, almost unnatural stillness, especially when the mist rolls in from the nearby forest.
• Ashwick High is a modern building with bricks that match the older homes in the area. Its large parking lot and sports fields feel a little out of place against the town's more rustic backdrop. Inside, the hallways are filled with lockers, fluorescent lights, and the constant hum of student chatter. Yet, despite its modernity, the school holds an old-world charm, with classrooms that still feature wooden desks and antique blackboards in some of the older parts of the building.
• Ashwick’s central park is an open area, with a large pond in the center, surrounded by mature trees and walking paths. It’s a place where families come to picnic during the day, but the park transforms in the evening, when the shadows stretch long, and the faint sound of the water seems to take on a darker edge. In the winter, the park becomes a quiet winter wonderland, with bare branches and snow-covered benches, adding to its ghostly charm.
• The town cemetery sits just on the outskirts of Ashwick, tucked between two old streets. Its weathered gravestones date back over a century, and the trees in the cemetery are twisted and gnarled, adding to the sense of history. The cemetery is kept well, but there’s a feeling that something ancient and secretive rests beneath its soil.
• The Ashwick Forest lies just beyond the suburban edge of the town. It’s dense, dark, and expansive, with towering trees that seem to have been standing for centuries. Some parts of the forest are untouched, while others have been cleared for development, but there is still a sense of something untamed within. The deeper you venture, the more whispers and strange sights seem to emerge.
• Shanna lives in a neighborhood filled with historical homes, located on the edge of Ashwick. These houses, while well-maintained, show their age—weathered wood, old brick facades, and grand, gabled roofs. Some homes have hidden gardens with overgrown hedges, while others boast worn, iron gates leading into cracked stone courtyards. The area has a quiet, almost forgotten charm, and it’s easy to get lost in the winding streets that haven’t been touched by modern development.