creepy and sleepy

Onyx | 33 | They/She

[hookedon-onyx]

ofmcthman​:

she was used to the strange way people described a broken car: grinding, popping, scraping, clacking, salem had heard every variation. that’s probably why her boss had tasked her with working on onyx’s car, too impatient to take the time to do it himself when he could pawn it off on someone else. the redhead never minded, grease-stained fingertips were being wiped off on a dirty rag when she sighed, eyes trained on the other almost sympathetically. “your engine is busted, and you need new rotors and break pads. the rotors and breaks are baseline five-hundred, but the motor…? that one is more complicated.”

-

While the car was relatively old, Onyx thought they’d taken better care of it than this. The motor didn’t surprise them as much, but they just stood there and stared at Salem blankly, in shock that it needed new break pads and rotors already. “Uh... wow, okay,” they acknowledged the repairs needed, pursing their lips a little bit. “Let me guess, you don’t have the motor part in stock because the car’s over ten years old. The money’s not a huge deal, I’m more worried about time,” they added, with a slight sigh.

[hookedon-onyx]

ofmcthman​:

sometimes the only peaceful moments in centralia were the hours that happened long after the sun set. honey may have been the epitome of sunshine, but that didn’t always mean that she was an early riser. her thoughts bounced from one edge of her brain to the next, and after what felt like hours of tossing and turning in her bed, she had finally given up. the town was small and quaint, but wandering around alone after dark certainly didn’t seem like a good idea. but when had rosemary-beatrice moore ever had a good idea? maybe that’s why she ended up in the cemetery, her eyes aimed towards the sky and her back leaning against a rather tall tree. there was something oddly peaceful about being surrounded by old headstones and overgrown weeds, and as she pulls her legs up to hug them to her chest, she’s nearly gotten the wind knocked out of her as a disembodied voice sounded form behind her. “shit…” she muttered, eyes wide and hands against the ground, fingers tangled in grass as she twists to peer out from where she sat. “am i trespassing? because if i’m trespassing, just let me know so i can move along peacefully. if i have another run-in with the police, they’ll make me stay in a holding cell all night.”

-

Onyx wasn’t used to running into anyone out here after dark - usually there were just rustling of leaves, a squirrel or two, but never a whole human person. So it was bound to be awkward. They leaned against the tree that they were both beside now, and attempted to be chill although their heart was pounding from the fright. They heard the other plea for them not to call the cops and nodded. “Nah, this is a public cemetery, technically it’s employees only after ten but I won’t report you, you don’t look like a hooligan that’s going to deface gravestones or anything. Wait, another run-in? What’d you do the last time?” they asked, head cocked to one side.

[hookedon-onyx]

location: cemetery

status: open ( @liminalstart​ )

-

Fully aware of how late it was, Onyx was wandering the cemetery, on a long-distance job for a distant relative of a Centralia resident who had passed around fifty years ago. She’d confirmed that the given name was not in the records for the cemetery at all, but that didn’t mean the relative necessarily gave the correct name. So she was on a mission to find all of the headstones with similar names, of which there were about thirty, narrowed down to twelve with the date range they gave her. She was taking pictures of all of them to cross-reference with the database and find out if their relative was indeed buried in the town. But her phone suddenly glitched out and died, and would not turn back on. Just as she was walking back to her car to plug it back in, she saw someone lurking around behind a tree nearby. “Hello?” she said, in a tone that suggested both suspicion and fear. “What are you doing out this late? Not that I’m... not out this late, but technically I’m working, so...” she partially said the sentence, still glancing around the tree to figure out who it was.

[hookedon-onyx]

ofmcthman​:

location: local coffee shop

status: open ( @liminalstart​ )

with an overnight job coming up and the inability to keep her mind at ease, circe had decided supplementing with coffee, of all things, was a great idea. she was on her third iced latte, the drink perched on a napkin in front of her as she bent herself nearly in half over her computer. her face was so close to the screen she was practically cross-eyed, the font on the webpage too small to be seen from a proper distance away. however, feeling someone join her at the table, the brunette shook her head, eyes not even glancing up before speaking with the assumption that she knew whoever it was. “you’d think people would make their web pages more acceptable, especially since it’s for a library. what the hell is the pro—-oh.” her eyes had lifted then to make direct eye contact with another person, hands dropping to her lap. “sorry about that…i thought you were someone else?”

 -

Onyx didn’t even think Circe had noticed that they’d sat at the same table as her, and they really didn’t mind much at all until Circe began mumbling and inching closer and closer to her laptop. She looked like an overtired gremlin hunched over like that, but it was rather entertaining. Clearly she was frustrated about something, and it was even more obvious when she actually began verbalizing it and broke her connection with the screen. Onyx wanted to chuckle, but pursed their lips in concern. “No worries... Is it really that bad?” they scooted closer and glanced at the screen, and then inhaled sharply. “Oh, yeah, that looks at least fifteen years outdated. And who do they think can read text that tiny? Fairies?” they asked rhetorically. “I can see why you’re so frazzled.”

[hookedon-onyx]

ofmcthman​:

location: the bar

status: open ( @liminalstart​ )

there was a buzzing in the air around her, the citizens of centralia all seemingly crowded into one place in a desperate escape from their homes. wren had no excuse when it came to being at the bar other than not wanting to be trapped in her apartment any longer. while wednesday was perfectly fine company and did her best to keep her owner occupied, even the dull roar of a movie in the background and the promise of a little black cat curled up in her lap wasn’t enough to keep the whitewater girl satisfied. however, despite the bar being crowded, wren had still stuffed herself into a corner away from other people, sketchbook open in front of her and eyes stuck on the lines she’d already placed on the page. she could feel someone next to her, but she didn’t lift her gaze at all, just brought her thumb to her mouth so she could chew idly on the side of it. “what does this look like to you?” she finally asked, head cocking to the side as she practically glared at the drawing. “to me, it looks like a demented fish.”

-

To say that Onyx was a frequent visitor at the local bar was pushing it, though she found herself here more often lately, perhaps out of some twisted need for human interaction. She usually either sat at the very end of the bar for a very easy escape or tucked herself in to the most unassuming booth to people-watch. Tonight was the latter, and when she spotted Wren coming in she waited a while before approaching, mostly because she was eyeing someone at the bar who was very obviously trying to take home the bartender. When she tired of watching that pathetic interaction she approached Wren in her little corner. She tilted her head at the drawing and analyzed it for a moment. “I see, uh... baked potato? But with like, spikes on it,” she suggested, reaching for her drink and taking a long swig.

[hookedon-onyx]

everandevermcre​:

open starter / @liminalstart​​​​​​ somewhere private

        you would think someone running involved in an illegal scheme would be better at lying . then again , is it illegal if there’s no legitimate centralia authorities ? the authorities one town over would argue this in a heartbeat saying if centralia residents were the exception that someone would have moved here themselves just to kill us all and shut the town down for good . these idle quips go on in kimo’s mind while he twiddles his thumbs . he’s mostly waiting for the person in front of him to be done talking so that he can deny deny deny the living crap out of the tours he’s been giving as close active mines one can possibly get . ‘  i have no idea what you’re talking about . going down to the mines sounds like a death wish . why would i do that ?  ’

-

Onyx was never one to get into too much trouble, they preferred to stay on the sidelines and out of anyone’s business. But they also had a natural curiosity about some things, especially around this town. So when they heard whispers about a tour at least near the mines, they started asking around. They’d of course been given access to the safer parts of underneath the cemetery because they worked there, but the mines? It was unheard of. So when Kimo started getting defensive, they backed off a little and gave him an apologetic look, but one also of confusion. “Alright, chill, I just meant, it would be cool right? If someone was bringing people down there? I’d love to see it as close as I could, wouldn’t you?” they asked.

[hookedon-onyx]

ofhellview​:

“Yeah - that’s the one,” Cosmo nodded eagerly.  “Smart cookie, aren’t ya?”  As they approached the gas station, he dropped his cigarette, quickly stomping on it before reaching out to pull the door open for Onyx.  “Oh yeah, that shit in big cities is a no go.  I’ve definitely tried, and let’s just say if I didn’t have connections, I’d probably spend more time inside of a cell than outside of one.”  That wasn’t to say Cosmo didn’t have other run ins with the law, but he wasn’t exactly itching to wave that around.  “You have a dog?  What’s ‘s name?”

-

“I try to be the smartest cookie around,” they replied with a slight smile as he stamped out his cigarette. “I promise not to make a habit of it, we wouldn’t want anyone thinking you’re a bad influence on a good person like me,” they implied, joking of course. They walked through the door he held open, mumbling a thanks before they heard his question about the dog. “Lancelot. But his nicknames include just plain old Lance, Lancey-Wancey, Lando, Lotso-Huggin’-Bear, I won’t bore you with the hundred others,” they smiled widely when talking about their dog. He meant everything to them.

[hookedon-onyx]

xemptywithyoux​:

“i do insist, and you know i’m stubborn, so…” faith was quick to give a cold shrug. the last thing she wanted was people’s pity, even if it was with a good intention like she knew came from onyx. her mom had done it her entire life, so to think that she was getting up to that point made her nauseous. no, she would work harder if that’s what it meant. “i know, and i’ll take your word for it, it’s just been pretty dead at work currently. there haven’t been any new victims around, if you know what i mean. it’s like the snow storm scared them all.” it was not uncommon for men from other towns to sneak into centralia, where they would remain anonymous most likely, but there hadn’t been too many of those lately. it was something she was thankful for, but also quite mad about, it was just the nature of her job. “what? no, oh my god- no. i don’t- no. i have enough, i promise. i just didn’t have it today, that’s all. i- no. thank you so much, i know you do it out of your heart, but i can’t accept that.” 

-

“Oh I know you are,” she confirmed to her friend, narrowing her eyes slightly to imply a tiny bit of annoyance in her voice. She couldn’t stand seeing someone she cared about struggle in the way that Faith currently was. She didn’t pity her, per se, but it was hard to watch her navigate a job that could put her at risk. At some point Onyx had accepted, though, that she was a big girl and could take care of herself. She heard Faith explain that it was in fact the opposite issue to what she had assumed. “Oh, thank god. I mean, not really, because no clients means no money, but I’m glad you’re at least being treated okay,” she said in an attempt at a reassuring tone. She then started to stumble over words after Onyx’s offer and she couldn’t help but let out a giggle. “Alright, alright, I won’t make you take a loan. Just promise me you’ll ask for help if you ever end up needing it, okay?” she looked at her friend with a wide-eyed knowing look and held out her pinky.

[hookedon-onyx]

ofhellview​:

“Like, we need food to live, you’d think they could stand to be a little more… what’s the word,” Cosmo gestured vaguely for a moment.  “When people feel bad for you but not in a bad way.  Whatever,”  He moved on.  “Maybe, but I mean we get paid minimum wage, and it’s not like we’re stealing the cigarettes or alcohol, so they kinda are more willing to look the other way.  Maybe it’s just a Centralia thing.”  A slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips.  “Yeah; that’s sorta my usual meals too.  Whatever’s quick and cheapest.”

-

“Compassionate?” they asked, pretty positive that was the word he was looking for. They listened to him explain how the gas station worked and were pretty lax about it, and shrugged. “I guess so, and I mean, that’s nice of them, just surprising. In Philly that would never fly, you’d get the cops called on you quicker than you could walk two feet,” they explained. “Probably a Centralia thing, yeah,” they agreed, continuing to walk towards the gas station. “Absolutely, nothing too fancy. I only have myself and my dog to impress,” they laughed.

[hookedon-onyx]

xemptywithyoux​:

izzy looked at the time on her phone and thought about the suggestion for a second. she really didn’t want to get home any time soon, or her father would make her cook for him- something she really wasn’t good at at all. she’d much rather get home and see herself forced to order in or something. she sighed and looked at all the boxes of cereal getting all wet. “well, i don’t know. soggy cereal ain’t bad, but this isn’t milk, so…” she looked around. “do you think anything is worth saving? before we leave i mean?”

-

Onyx began to wipe down their clothes which had gotten mussed while trying to make sense of everything on the ground in front of them, and grinned when they heard Izzy agree to getting a drink. They looked pitifully at the ground and everything that was beginning to scatter even further. “Probably the stuff in glass is okay, and I think this bag managed to fly onto the ground, so I can stuff a few things in there I guess,” they confirmed, picking up a few jars and unscathed boxes, retrieving the more important bags of cereal and sticking them in the bag. They tucked the bag under a nearby bench. “It can wait right here, I’m not going to be the one to explain why I brought a bag of groceries to a bar,” they chuckled and shrugged a little bit. “Let’s go.”

[hookedon-onyx]

antiquom​:

-

“Hey hey hey, in my line of work, even an almost empty box of cereal is worthy”, North claimed while clinging to one of the boxes and checking the insides. “Water powers would be either very useful or absolutely useless in this town that is constantly burning”, he pointed out, “…although it’d have helped with the milk for sure”. He dropped a soft chuckle with her words full of pride. “I would totally go in to beg for you if you want; not a drop of dignity left in this wonderful body of mine”, he added signaling at all of himself with a free hand and a cheeky half-smile. The boy considered her offer and while he had a strict stranger danger policy, the temptation of cleaning again his recently-washed-pants was awfully irresistible for him; besides, she didn’t look like the serial killer type. “Huh— well, that’s very nice of you actually and while all this sounds like a potential murder plot, I’d actually die for some clean pants right now, so yes, please and thanks. I’ll follow you”.

-

“Yeah, I’m not so sure they’d have any use here, at least not under the surface. If anything it’d probably cause sinkholes and shit,” she thought aloud. “For anything spilled though, I’m sure it’d come in handy.” She looked at him thankfully for the offer to go back in to the store for her. “While that would be hilarious to watch, I don’t think I can let you strip yourself of what little dignity you might have,” she chuckled. When he confirmed that he’d follow her to her place, she thought for a moment and then let out a massive snort after looking him up and down for a moment. Looking to her height, and then his, this would definitely be a photo-worthy moment. “Just, uh, the sweats might look like shorts on you, so that’ll be hilarious. I might have a skirt if that would be too embarrassing,” she laughed again, picking up the last few things to carry in her arms before they headed to her place.

[hookedon-onyx]

ofhellview​:

He couldn’t help but chuckle.  “Well, I guess it’s the thought that counts, right?”  Cosmo started towards the gas station, just a few blocks away from the tragic scene.  “Shit happens sometimes, you know?  It’s not likely the supermarket will just let you go get a bunch of groceries again for free, but most mornings I just nab my breakfast while I’m leaving work anyway, and I’ve never gotten scolded for it.”  He glanced back at her, giving her a playful look.  “So not telling anyone keeps feeding both of us.  What were you planning on making?”

They simply put their head down and began to follow him towards the gas station to replenish their supplies. “Yeah, that’s unlikely. Last time I saw someone drop a gallon of milk they wouldn’t even offer a half-gallon as a replacement, so much for kind deeds,” they remarked, rolling their eyes slightly and turning to face him as he made his comment. “Really? How weird, I’d think they’d be really hard on those things,” they said with a shrug before answering his last question. “Oh, literally just the basics. Cereal, ramen, those kinds of things. I live a bachelor’s sort of lifestyle,” they stated.

[hookedon-onyx]

ofhellview​:

“Oh no; that’s the absolute worst,” Kitty wrinkled her nose.  There was nothing worse than being faced with too many decisions and yet none of them jumping out to appeal to you.  “Okay, well, let’s see.  Do you at least know if you’re craving something sweet, salty, sour, spicy?  That can at least narrow it down a little.”

Their eyes darted across shelves, contemplating the question they’d been asked. “Honestly? All of the above. If there’s some sort of chocolate-covered-sriracha-pickle I’ve never heard of, I’m all ears, because that sounds really good right about now. Or, maybe it’s the worst thing I’ve ever come up with. The world may never know,” they said with a shrug. “I might as well get one of everything.”

[hookedon-onyx]

tcrtcard​:

“no worries, that door is pretty annoying,” nat laughs. the café door always garnering some annoyance from at least one person whenever they sat outside to work. “i think it switches everyday.”

Onyx went to the counter and picked up her to-go order, turning back to Nat as she took a sip of her newly-acquired latte. “Yeah, I really think it does. Of course, I don’t think I’ve ever had enough caffeine in my system to really judge if I’m going in or out at any given moment, so that does explain it a little,” she explained with a grimace.

[hookedon-onyx]

tcrtcard​:

@liminalstart​ | open

“wait…i don’t think that’s how you’re supposed to do that.”

“Oh.... right,” they said with embarrassment, pulling on the door that had said ‘push’ in their mind and having it open. “Thank you,” they muttered, entering the coffee shop. “Every time,” they muttered under their breath.

[hookedon-onyx]

ofhellview​:

open starter for @liminalstart​  location: the gas station, 10 pm

Kitty couldn’t help when her cravings hit, and apparently she needed her favorite ice cream and chips combination way too late at night.  She was less than presentable, having made a mad dash from her apartment to the little gas station that always seemed to be open.

“I take it I’m not the only one with a late night hankering?” She joked, noticing she wasn’t the only person perusing the salty snack aisle.

Onyx was grabbing a six-pack and perusing the aisles of snack foods, hoping to see something that would catch her eye. She picked up a bag of pretzels and was putting them back after deciding against them when she heard Kitty. “Nope, but the problem is I don’t know what I’m hankering for,” she said with a shrug, holding her six-pack in one hand and continuing to narrow her eyes at the small bags of chips and crackers.

[hookedon-onyx]

tcrtcard​:

@liminalstart​ | open

one too many beers at a local bar, alex wobbled over to the payphone. which, of course, didn’t work. cause it’s 2022. “what the fuck…” he mumbled under his breath. 

“Do you, uh, need a cab?” Onyx asked, noticing that he was a little off-center, but also that he didn’t seem to be in a great mood. “Or even better, another drink? I just got here a few minutes ago, and I walked, so if you wanna hang with me I can get us both a cab,” they offered, not really knowing why the sudden gesture came out, but it had been a rough day for them at work so they didn’t exactly want to be alone.