linger on

henley. 23. everything i've had but couldn't keep.

[henleyelgin]

HENLEY ELGIN ( 23. CIS MAN. HE/HIM ) is here! They’ve lived in Asbury Park for 23 YEARS and are originally from ASBURY PARK, NJ. They are a DOORDASH DRIVER and in their downtime love OBSERVING TIDE POOLS and WATCHING HARRY DEAN STANTON'S FILMOGRAPHY. They look a lot like OWEN TEAGUE and live in SUNCREST. The song that makes people think of them the most is SEEN AND NOT SEEN BY THE TALKING HEADS.

THE BASICS:

FULL NAME: henley david elgin

NICKNAMES: hen, mother hen (family nickname), hard-on henley (high school was rough)

GENDER & PRONOUNS: cis man & he/him

AGE & BIRTHDAY: 23 & may 1, 2001

ZODIAC: ☼ taurus ☾ leo ↑ pisces

BIRTHPLACE: asbury park, nj

MBTI & ALIGNMENT: intp & lawful good

+ TRAITS: diligent, open-minded, steadfast, independent

- TRAITS: obsessive, repressed, cagey, scatterbrained

RESIDENCE: suncrest

OCCUPATION: doordash driver

LINKS: pinterest / playlist / tasks

BACKGROUND & DETAILS:

henley spent the majority of his childhood in foster care, bouncing from home to home all around jersey with very little stability or sense of routine. it wasn't until he was placed with the elgins that he was officially adopted, just shy of his thirteenth birthday.

he found himself to be temporarily the youngest (with three siblings older than him), but the elgins' propensity to foster and adopt continued on, making henley into a middle child before long. no one knows how it happened, but he took on the responsibility of head-counter in the family, often corralling his siblings for family outings and tying shoes or chasing down jackets before school. he definitely preened a little whenever they were complimented for being so well-behaved during sermon.

which, speaking of, the elgins are christian evangelicals. they're big on proselytizing and being active in the community - meaning: not only was every sunday spent at the church, but countless hours were devoted to volunteer work.

if henley wasn't into it, he never said a word. being welcomed into their household so warmly still somehow left him feeling as if he was walking a very precarious line; that if he didn't behave exactly right, then he'd lose his place. how much of that fear is genuine or learned from past foster home experiences, henley isn't sure (and he doesn't wanna examine it either, tbh), but its there and ingrained deeply that love is conditional.

he was very much Not Popular in high school if that wasn't already obvious.......

has a tendency to be kinda feral and awkward in most social situations, esp when abruptly put one on one with someone he doesn't know particularly well

literally him actually

henley worked summers at silverball retro arcade all throughout high school until his senior year when the owner accused him of stealing, like, a ton of money over the course of his employment. it caused quite the stir at the time, and its still unclear if he actually did it, since his parents swooped in to stop any legal action from being taken. was he let off the hook bc of his parents position in the community? was he falsely accused? who can say! henley def ain't making a peep <3

currently, he's a doordash driver with a great rating, he loves his night drives!

henley's also been taking classes at the local community college for the last year or so. he really has no outright goal or major in mind, but he's taking a lot of science-based courses (microbiology, botany, geology, etc) and more or less using it as an excuse to get space from his parents.

getting that space has led him to rent the basement mother-in-law suite from an old guy in suncrest. it took a couple weeks of living there for him to realize that he'd landed such a good deal bc the owner legit had dementia and kept confusing him for his grandson - oops! complex guilt has henley doing all the yard work and misc home repairs to make up for all the money he's saving. he's an honorary grandkid now 💕

he's a jersey native through and through, and at this point i think he's a little terrified of leaving the state at all.

like imagine that ep of iasip where they put charlie in the uhaul

fascinated by fungi and root systems and mold and spores, etc etc. like.. functional communication solely done through intertwined nervous systems? A DREAM SCENARIO

king of contradiction!! he's boasting on job applications that he can "go with the flow" but the truth is that he'll just agree with whoever he's with in the moment to keep the peace. big time fawner when it comes to conflict

had an insane edibles incident a little after his 21st bday where he wound up convinced he was a werewolf for like a solid 4 hours lmfao help the boy!!

loves cats sm, he's guilty of feeding strays down by the boardwalk

bee gees, beastie boys, and bjork - the 3 most important b's to henley

POTENTIAL CONNECTIONS:

as always, i love dash chem 💖 i'm always down to go with the flow and hc after the fact, or even just dive into a random scenario and see where it takes us!!

family friends - anyone else who grew up on pine street or may know the elgins in whatever form!

people from high school - leaving this open to all sorts of fun connections ~ friends, distant admirers, bullies, ex-friends 👀, old lab partners, pretty much whatever ur heart desires.

neighbors - others who live in suncrest! maybe even the actual child or grandchild of the old man he's renting from lmao

an unrequited / secret crush - like i said, henley's socially inept and he's never had a girlfriend. very easily could see this as a secret admirer type sitch?? he's liable to be obsessive and weird abt it but it's just soooo easy to idealize someone u don't really know at all 😔

an internet gf - ok i know i just said henley's never had a gf before everyone knows the internet isn't real!! djekns there's a lot of ways this could go but i mostly just imagine it as someone he exchanges silly goofy messages with a lot. could be a catfish scenario? maybe they've never shared pics or maybe they know who he is irl and he doesn't realize? idk could be a fun reveal down the line!!

doordash regulars - OR even, a horrible awkward doordash delivery gone wrong <3 anything for a chaotic first meeting thread

bad influence - please please pleasepleaseplsea please palease

older siblings ? - i miiiiiight put in a wc for them at some point, but henley's 2 eldest siblings are the bio kids of his parents, whereas the one closest to him in age was also adopted. i imagine the other adopted sibling to be more outspoken and clash with the fam, maybe even left home quickly. there's a lot to explore between all their dynamics

[benji-parsons-deactivated202502]

Who: Open Where: Groovy Graveyard When: Friday Afternoon

There was lull in traffic for the store for which Benji was terribly thankful. It wasn't that he disliked his job; quite the opposite, really. He got paid for listening to music all day. It was a pretty sweet gig, as far as he could tell. Sure, he had to talk to people occasionally, but it was mostly talking about music or movies or something so it wasn't as bad as it could be. The thing was, though he liked his job and tolerated talking to the customers, the job was much better when there weren't customers to tolerate talking to.

He changed the record that had been playing over the sound system and perched on his stool behind the counter. Sketchbook flipped open, he began absently doodling with a sharpie.

[henleyelgin]

I'm not spending money, I'm not spending money, I'm not sp --

The mental mantra went on and on as Henley wandered around Groovy Graveyard, silent and at peace to flip through records and CDs alike. And even as he swore that he wouldn't spend a dime of his recent paycheck, he toted around two vinyls, as if someone else might swoop in and snatch them from right out under his nose. The store was a ghost town, though, and Henley and nearly forgotten there was even a clerk on duty until he heard the music click over. Glancing up from an ABBA boxset, he wandered back towards the front of the shop, hesitating briefly before piping up to ask, "What's that playing right now?"

[novadellano]

Nova was sitting in the seat, slouched back with their Doc Marten-cladded feet crossed at the ankles and on the seat in front of the petite individual. When the other began with 'sorry', a brow raised in question. The expression was quick to change into one of shock before fishing out the ticket out of her pocket. "I guess I am. Sorry about that." She got up with her tub of popcorn loitered with Reese's Pieces and plopped down in the next seat over. "How much gore do you think there'll be?"

[henleyelgin]

He really hadn't expected the stranger to fall right into the seat next to his, but Henley supposed he didn't have any say in where they sat. It'd be awfully hypocritical of him to try. "Ah, um, well…" His lips twisted around in a weird frown-smile of thought as he got situated, craning his neck to survey the entirety of the empty theater. "There isn't anybody else here to see it, so… my money's on bloodbath." Or, even more likely, it was such an obscure 80s slasher that no one cared to pay the outrageous ticket price to see its reissue. "Are you into horror movies?" Henley asked, attempting to be conversational. "Or just getting in the Halloween spirit?"

[holyinruins]

Ricardo had walked into an empty theatre, surprised. He was warned that it was probably just going to be him for the film, and while he initially thought that would be pretty neat, he didn't stop to think about how awkward he'd feel in such a big room by himself. Naturally, with assuming he'd be alone, Ric did not pay too much attention to the seat number he had and chose a random spot to plop down. He was in the middle of an ad when he spotted another body enter the cinema showroom, curiously watching to see where they would sit. Up the aisle they went, then back down. When he noticed them heading in his direction Ricardo assumed he had picked the only other seat claimed in the showroom. "Oh, I'm sorry about that," he replies, offering a small smile. Looking back at his ticket he sees that the seat is actually just one down from where he was, and he instantly gets up to let the other claim their rightful place. Once he's settled into his correct seat, Ricardo can't help but wonder out loud, "I don't know if it's just me, but is it a little strange that this place is this empty? Do you think we might've picked a bad movie or something?"

[henleyelgin]

"Thanks," he said, stiff smile softening into something a little more genuine, relieved to not have to argue over the seat. Henley slunk down to sit, checking his phone out of habit, although it was already switched to 'silent' and had been since he was in the lobby of the theater. "It's creepy." His bobbing nod of agreement came a little too soon, though, glancing towards the stranger when he continued to speak, realizing only then that while he'd meant the chilly, empty space surrounding them was eerie, they took the lack of patrons to be a bad sign of what they were about to sit through. "Oh… I don't know," he started again, exhaling a soft chuckle while pocketing his phone. "I guess, maybe. Or maybe it's just proof that movie theaters really are dying." Henley's shoulders shrugged up around his ears, holding that pose for a few seconds before confessing, "Everyone I know always says I have terrible taste in movies, though, so…"

[cj-emhoff]

He'd gotten himself a cheesy dog at The Showroom—the only thing he'd had all day as it was, his house infiltrated by his own father and a slew of colleagues and randoms tied to. Knowing damn well it was going to be a long night. It was a euphoric experience with the inhale of the dog, CJ didn't notice anyone else in the previously empty theater —though the hoodie over his head also playing it's part in visually stiffening his surroundings — he barely looked up when he heard the questioning voice, a bit of a surprise behind his words, "Mm man, find another. It's wide open bro."

[henleyelgin]

There was something familiar about this person's voice, pinging an alarm in his hindbrain that told him to back off while he still had the chance. But Henley faltered, feet remaining glued to the soda-sticky floor as he looked around the chilly -- and, yes, otherwise empty -- theater. "This is my assigned seat," he said, looking back down at the hooded figure. "If I sit in another spot, someone might come in and I'll be in their seat." Was he being painfully pedantic about the social rules set by the theater or practicing some much needed assertiveness? Even Henley wasn't sure, but still he insisted while thrusting his receipt in the other's direction, "I have my ticket, see?"

[felipe-feliz-deactivated2024111]

"I wouldn't underestimate 'em," Felipe shifted to lean against the bar, arms crossed against his chest, "For all you know they might've gotten enough practice in to actually start aiming at the pins without the bumpers." As if on cue, the sound of a bowling ball thumping against the barriers as it zig zagged down the lane rang out and he shook his head, shrugging casually. "Or not. Don't worry about it. One day they'll get too cool to hang out with their suddenly annoying older brother--at least that's been my experience."

"What's Halloween looking like for you guys? Got any plans?"

[henleyelgin]

The noise of the ball clattering around and practically bouncing down the lane had Henley looking back again, watching another devastating roll take place. "I think I'm already kinda there," he admitted, always a little too mothering and conscientious of the rules, especially now that his younger siblings were reaching tween years. "Our parents wanted the night alone, so." And Henley was the only elder child who reliably answered his phone. He shrugged, swiveling to Felipe again to ask with a curiosity that he hoped wasn't prying, "You have a lot of siblings?" He wondered if any of them lived in town, if that was the case.

Henley hummed gently, shaking his head as he thought ahead to Halloween. "I think there's some trunk-or-treating carnival thing going on at the church." But he'd be avoiding tagging along at all costs. "Some friends of mine have been talking about a couple parties, too. I'm not big on Halloween, to be honest, but it could be fun."

[chiadeyemiis]

Chi felt as if the torch was passed down to her, to be honest. The explanation of Impratical Jokers is a (non-familial? Platonic? Is that a thing? Platonic generations?) generation long tradition, and now it's her turn to do it. “Kinda? It'a a TV show. It's where these guys do like…stupid stuff as a challenge.” It's probably the most easiest way to explain it, without going over the intriguing topic that is Murr's shitty luck.

On the topic of circle talks roundtables, she clicked her tongue for a while to think over the scenario. As much as the original proposal sounded interesting, the idea of arguing with her friends over drink names was enough to give her a pre-migraine. “I don't think a drink version of Family Feud would work that well when you say it like that,” She admitted, awkwardly scratching her scalp. “Plus, the names might sound like they've been ripped straight from Cards Against Humanity if I asked my friends to do that with me, to be honest…”

Could it ever get worse than Witch's Tit though? Probably.

[henleyelgin]

"That… sounds like a lot of TV shows," he said after a slow moment of thought, trying to envision a title card with Impractical Jokers emblazoned across it, but nothing specific was coming to mind. Henley couldn't even say for sure if he'd ever clicked past an ad for it while channel surfing on the odd Saturday morning.

Family Feud, however, rang plenty of of bells. His tentative smile widened, huffing out another half-formed chuckle. "Another one where people are acting stupid on TV," he pointed out, although his head bobbed in agreement. "I think we've cracked it. Figured out why people must be naming drinks all on their own. It creates too much animosity between friends." Especially if everybody was getting drunk while doing so. A few more drinks were added to his growing collection, but Henley didn't reach for them quite yet, still short a few. Instead, he turned slightly, angling towards the other before offering his hand in a strangely formal gesture for meeting a stranger at a bar. "I'm Henley, by the way."

[emisoras]

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[henleyelgin]

with: open to all location: showroom cinema when: anytime, any day!

Henley had walked up the aisle before turning right around and walking back down. He lingered beside the screen still playing silent ads, an awkward hunch bowing his shoulders as he checked both his phone and the physical ticket. No, yes, he was right. He headed up the aisle again, slower, nodding with each numbered row he passed. His steps faltered, hesitating before he did a little shuffle-walk down a few seats, pausing beside the only other person in the cinema. He cleared his throat, "Um, sorry." A weak smile. "But I think you might be in my seat..." How much did it really matter when every other seat was empty?

[felipe-feliz-deactivated2024111]

Felipe gave a quick nod, rolling his eyes hoping that conveyed the annoyance he had felt at the evenings earlier interaction. "Maybe they had a point but being a dick about it is not the way. Fortunately, that's what the asshole tax is for."

"You taking a break from wrangling duty?" he asked, gesturing towards the lanes at Henley's siblings.

[henleyelgin]

Asshole tax, Henley thought again to himself, head ducking with the widening of his smile. He wished there was a way to tag that onto his DoorDash delivery fees. Some people deserved it. "Mhm," he hummed, twisting in his seat again to peer back at his siblings, checking in on them with a hint of exasperation. "Sorry if I drop dead right here." A cringe of a smile was turned to Felipe again, head shaking as Henley reached out a spindly arm to snag a napkin from the nearby caddy, wiping at his greasy fingers. "I'm afraid they're gonna make us stick around all the way 'til closing... Would it be totally evil if I asked you to say the bumpers are malfunctioning so they start rolling gutter balls and stop having fun?" He was kidding! ... Sort of.

[chiadeyemiis]

“Wait—what? You don’t know Impratical Jokers?” How could someone not know the delicacies of watching Sal be the main one to get a punishment? It’s the only thing that keeps Chi entertained, to be honest. She’ll make herself something for lunch or dinner, then refuse to leave her bed as she listens to the group cackle about how stupid the challenge is while munching down on her culinary creations. Plus, it removes her embarrassment for the day, because even if she did something stupid, Impractical Jokers will do something stupider.

Despite that being entertaining, conversation in general is what gets her spark going, so maybe that’s why she keeps smiling during this entire thing. “You’re right. I just didn’t expect for them to sound like the bad flavors in Jelly Belly’s challenge thingy.” Honestly, she only remembered to reference because “Rotten Egg” has given her taste buds trauma for a lifetime.

“Circle talk isn’t what I’m looking for—” She then snapped her fingers. “Roundtable.” She’s never been in one, but if she was put in one right now, she’d probably make the most of it. “Where they talk in a circle about a topic, something like that. I was assuming they do those with drink names.”

[henleyelgin]

He shook his head with a wince of a smile. "Is it an internet thing?" Henley hazarded a guess, a hopeful intonation lifting the question. Admittedly, he wasn't very 'online', especially being born smackdab in the middle of the Gen Z backet. A childhood spent unplugged had him pretty lost -- what was so interesting about YouTube, anyway? And don't get him started on the pointless vacuum that was social media. He was lucky to not utterly despise the DoorDash app after countless, annoying updates.

"Ohhhh --" His mouth agape, drawing out the single syllable for quite some time, understanding dawned. "Roundtable, yeah! I got you." Henley's smile snapped back into place, head bobbing enthusiastically, before he gave into another shrug. "That would be a fun way to do it, wouldn't it? Sit your five best friends down for a mystery drink tasting, and then have them say what first comes to mind." It'd probably even make for a fun party game. "The names might be worse then, though," Henley pointed out, giving a gentle huff. "In my experience, people don't love compromising on their creative ideas so much."

[felipe-feliz-deactivated2024111]

who: open where: Asbury lanes, late evening

Felipe didn't hesitate to jump behind the bar if need be and tonight, with two call outs, there was a big need. Not that he minded, emergencies happen. Plus, he enjoyed talking it up with tourists and regulars alike. The busiest time of the night was over, which he did need help with but he promised Diana, who usually worked in the diner area, lunch would be on him next time.

Eventually, a lull in traffic offered a short break. Resting an elbow on the wooden surface, he leaned on the counter and spoke to the nearest patron sitting at the bar, “Can you believe someone criticized the fact that we haven’t decorated for Halloween around here yet?” He pointed a thumb toward the shelf displaying the alcohol selection behind him. Nestled between a Jim beam and Tito’s Vodka was a lone miniature pumpkin. “I mean, that’s gotta be enough, right?”

[henleyelgin]

Once upon a time, bowling was a designated Sunday activity for the Elgins, tween Henley and his six siblings occupied for a few blissful hours while their parents decompressed after church. Times changed, though. People grew up, left the nest, and traditions morphed to fit busier schedules. Tonight, it was just Henley and his younger siblings, talked into taking them out for a 'wild night' with their college-going brother.

Predictably, Asbury Lanes was not that wild.

But Henley sure was feeling it in his wallet, finally stealing away to sit at the bar with a loaded plate of nachos, taking first crack at it so he'd at least get a decent portion. There was no telling how late they'd be there. He swiveled on the stool a little, craning his neck to glimpse the pumpkin Felipe pointed out. "I didn't realize bowling alleys had such an obligation to be festive," he quipped, eyebrows jumping as he smiled. "Was it a tourist getting on your case?"

[chiadeyemiis]

Upon looking at the list of (awfully named, in her opinion.) cocktails with a few squints here and there, Uzochi's first thought came out her mouth before it fully processed in her brain. “This feels like Impractical Jokers. Like, you're trying to get me to say one of the names or something so you can win a point. These can't be real names."

To be fair, she's heard worse though!

Despite being offput about the colorful language for what was listed, her lips did twitch in amusement at the mentioned name. “Witch's Tit? Very festive. I kinda wanna see how the writer's room for this works. Do drinks even have a writer's room? Can you even make a writer's room for this? Circle talk?" Being up at 3 AM later in an attempt to figure out how cocktails are named didn't sound exciting in the slightest, but Chi couldn't just sleep on this. She had too many questions now.

[henleyelgin]

"I…" Henley trailed off slowly, beginning to shake his head as he spoke, "don't know what Impractical Jokers is." His confession was punctuated with a light chuckle, as if pretending to be in on some gag that he didn't quite get. He glanced down at his phone once more before withdrawing his hand to pocket the device, twitching smile growing at all the theorizing she was doing. If there was one thing he could always appreciate, it was an analytical mind. "Well, the way I see it, is that the mixologist themself is burdened with the task of naming the drink they created." Hands now free, he gestured with them broadly, almost as if setting the scene, shoulders shrugging up. "And each one has to be unique, too, but there's already, like… what, thousands of drinks in existence? So, you've got a lot of tipsy bartenders playing mad scientist, and thus, many crap names." Because even Witch's Tit, as festive as it was, wasn't all that appealing of a drink name. It beat out Fuzzy Navel by a slim margin.

He glanced away as a glass clinked on the bar near him, one of at least a dozen he'd ordered, dropped off by the busy bartender who buzzed off to mix the next. Henley blinked back to the other and asked, "What's circle talk?"

[emmaridley]

who: anyone

where: wonder bar

"Hey, this is going to sound really weird, but could you pretend to be having a conversation with me? And I know I'm essentially starting a strange conversation by opening with that. I'm just trying to avoid someone."

[henleyelgin]

"Oh, uhm -- yeah, sure. Sure!" Henley's head bobbed a few times, trying to suppress the intense urge to scan the immediate vicinity for any shady characters, because that'd be way suspicious, right? With all of his focus put into not doing that, he found himself going mute, simply staring intensely at the blonde for a few long, empty seconds. What do normal people talk to strangers about at bars? Henley tried on a smile that was more of a frown, clearing his throat awkwardly before pitching, "So… come here often?"

[chiadeyemiis]

who — anyone!

where — sandoval dollar

Somewhat leaning over to the nearest person, it took Uzochi maybe two seconds before she started doing her usual: talking. “Dude, sorry to be a bother, but do you have any reccs? If I keep drinking shit like this—” She then pointed at the glass in her hand, which looked like it was barely touched. She's definitely apologizing to her wallet later for all of the wasting. “—I'm going to regret trying to do adult things.”

[henleyelgin]

The reed-like sway of his body was less a voluntary choice and more a kneejerk reaction, automatically giving the other space at the bar before realizing that he was actually being addressed. "Hm?" Henley glanced over, smile slowly turning sheepish as he looked between her and the glass. "Sorry, I'm just the drink mule." Tapping his phone back to life, he turned the screen so she could get a look. The Notes app was open, displaying a long list of mostly shots, but also a few ridiculously named cocktails that Henley had already stuttered out to the bartender. A raucous table was waiting to see how he managed to juggle all the drinks on his return trip. "I think your choice is more adult than an, uhh" -- he squinted at his phone, reading off -- "Witch's Tit." And there he went, going pink around the ears again.

[kyatra]

i hate people who know highways. “i’m heading south on I-65” okay man. i’m moving my rook to c2

[senso1954]

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Sometimes I can almost feel the power Sometimes I am so in love with you