CITY OF GOLD. @oakleyhall - Tumblr Blog

Name: Oakley Hall.

Age: 35.

Occupation: Private Investigator.

Neighborhood: Downtown.

Gender & Preferred Pronouns: Cis Male & He/Him.

+ VANESSA GABLE.

“Equipment that old, it’s not a shock. Wouldn’t be surprised if those wires hadn’t been looked at since Reagan was in office,” she snorted, slouching down a little lower in her chair in an effort to get comfortable, trying to keep her discomfort out of her face.

She had known Oakley well enough to detect when he wanted a topic change, even after so many years, so she didn’t fight him on it.

She didn’t like how close the call was tonight either.

“Maybe another hour, they wanna check on my lungs after all the smoke,” she tells him with a bob of her head. She knows it’s the smart thing to do, even it takes all night.

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, I know it’s late–”

The prospect of another hour there has him sinking lower in his chair, his legs outstretched in front of him which was a trip hazard for anyone passing by but at least that could double up as a source of entertainment for him.

“Shut up,” He interrupts, a less than comforting offering from him but it was the initial reaction her well-meaning dismissal caused in him. “I’m not just going to up and leave you here. When they say you can go, then I’ll go too.”

Once upon a time, he would have been the first call she made when she found herself in a place like this, but the effects of the time that’s passed between them was never more present in how that wasn’t the case now.

“You want something from the vending machine? I got a hankering for what I’m assuming is the flattest Diet Coke in all the land.”

#thread.#ft. vanessa gable.#vanessa 002.#rivergables

+ SPENCER MCCANN.

“Uh uh, I am not dealing with your mother.” Spencer stuck a finger out at him. She didn’t really like Spencer to begin with, even all those years ago. Probably because Spencer was screaming out the passenger side of football player’s trucks and smashing mailboxes from underage drinking. No one liked to admit that the Steeldriver was well known for serving underage at the time, but since the bartender had gotten fired for doing that. Pity, but also a saving grace. Spencer shuddered at the idea of dancing with an underage kid.

“Good to hear she’s still a Karen though. It comforts me that some things never change, like your mom. Nice to have that static personification.” Spencer laughed and bumped him back. She was excited to bully sheep tbh. As they walked to the livestock barn, she pointed at one, “Look, look. Looks like Carrottop.”

“Must be nice to have that option, consider me envious.” True, he had plenty of recourse for cutting the woman out of his life and he might even be happier for it, but when it came down to it Oakley had never quite been able to pull that trigger even if he had threatened to more than once. Elizabeth found most of his friends deplorable, with Van and Spencer a close first and second in her personal rankings. That’s probably what made him enjoy them so much.

“Nah, there’s no changing her at this point. She’s destined to become an ominous warning in The Mines. She’s halfway there, once a stray kicked ball goes into that yard there’s no coming back for it.” If it wasn’t so exhausting, he would find it more amusing. His eyes focused on the sheep she pointed out, it did bear and unfortunate likeness to the comedian that haunted his youthful nightmares.

“That’s fucking haunting. You know I don’t like that Carrot guy. Look at its friend though -- no thumbs and yet it still has a true Fonzie-like air about ‘em. Ayy.” Oakley gives two thumbs up for emphasis and also because it was a display of what he could do and the bleater couldn’t. Must be a State Fair day if he was trying to flex on a sheep. He drums his fingers on the metal rail of the enclosure that kept the wooly beasts contained before he’s stepping back again and searching around, his attention span lacking.

“They got rabbits here? I wanna pet one.”

#thread.#ft. spencer mccann.#spencer 001.#event: state fair.#timeline: pre fire.#spencermccann

+ MAGNOLIA CRUZ.

who → @oakleyhall where → cafe somewhere okay. i am lame.

It felt like 40 years. If you would have asked her she would have said she aged in the time it took them to prepare her coffee. Usually, she didn’t even stop, she made it at home, it was black like her soul, but something about all of this, she felt like she had literally aged, so when she saw the cup, her brain immediately told it it was hers, and she went for it, like a shark to a dying fish. It was seconds, if that, and she already had a sip and she was half out the door when her brain clicked on, “oh my god.” She all but almost spit it out before looking at the name, “I am definitely not, Oakley.” She grimaced at the taste, “Oakley this is yours and you have shit taste in coffee.”

Oakley was still listening to the barista explain why his coffee had Houdini’d from the counter when the culprit of the kidnapping reveals herself before the explanation could even be finished. He turns and looks towards the door, abandoning the conversation he had been engaged in to rescue his beverage from someone who did not appreciate a sugar rush like he did.

Without hesitation, he takes the cup from her and takes a swig, swishing it around his mouth like the neanderthal he was before he swallowed a gulp. It tasted like an attack on a person’s blood sugar levels, perfect.

“That’s fucking delicious, what’s wrong with you?” Before she can answer that, he’s trying to discern it for himself, sizing her up as he makes a guess. “Are you a black coffee, no sweetener, no room kinda deal?”

#thread.#ft. magnolia cruz.#magnolia 001.#magnoliacruz

━━ 🔎┊GIANTS – DERMOT KENNEDY.

i knew from the start, you’d be the one to set me free / that day in the park when the hurt would hide from me / those eyes used to know me, it’s been way too long / you are the moon and the stars, and all they gaze upon / time won’t ever move slowly, what you waiting on? / we used to be giants / when did we stop? / just say the word and i’ll be yours / you know i never forgot.

#soundtrack.#ft. vanessa gable.

+ NATALIE TATE.

for: anyone ( @ironriverstarters ) location: somewhere in downtown .

The last time Natalie actually even held a lit up blunt was probably back in college , which explained the nervous laughter when it was passed in the middle of the street . Sure , nobody was particularly around but them , but that didn’t mean she was exactly comfortable with the idea of getting caught , even if she was over thirty . “ i can’t believe i’m smoking a joint in the middle of the street , “ she announced , giggling as she held it close to her lips . “ i’m friends with the sheriff for pete’s sake , plus my mom is just around the corner … “ okay , she might’ve been feeling a little like a teenager . “ who rolled this , anyway ? “

“It’s so crazy right?” Oakley teases, unable to keep the amusement off his features as he watches her handle a joint like she’s been handed a bomb she has to diffuse.

“I don’t think the Sheriff’s number one priority is Natalie-Getting-Baked prevention and if it is? They need to reallocate some of that departmental funding.” Did the Sheriff’s department get that much funding? Mentally, he makes a note to look into that, mind drifting as he waited for her to take a second toke and pass it back like a civilised aspiring stoner.

“I did, you can tell by how expertly it’s done.”

#thread.#ft. natalie tate.#natalie 001.#nataliextate

+ COLT WINSLOW.

Well, what had started as rather nice show, even if Colt was watching his best friend’s ex on stage, was quickly destroyed fully by the fire. Colt had always been someone who was good in a crisis. Nothing like a wild animal freaking the fuck out and almost killing you a few times to channel the inner peace. Colt wasn’t really paying attention to the other and instead pointed to a water spout and moved to dodge around him. “Yeah, yep. There is a hose there, just an FYI. We’ve got some animals inside still.”

Oakley’s attention pivoted from the doom that was spreading around him to the hose that Colt pointed out, causing him to instantly spring into action and dash towards it. It had been curled on the ground like a snake, detached from the spigot that he would have passed without second glance for how it was concealed among brick and a layer of smoke.

He practically dives onto his knees without thought for how they would pay him back for that later, re-attaching the hose as fast as he could, cranking the fitting into place against the metal of the tap before he twisted the handle and a steady flow of water whipped out of the nozzle. On his feet again, he grabs it to stabilise and aim the spray, heading towards the barn for as close as the length of the hose would grant him.

It allows him close enough that he has to actively shield his face with his left forearm as he kept a hold on the hose with his right hand, trying to hit as much of the lively flames as he could.

“Can you get at any of them?” He says to Colt, presuming he was still in his vicinity.

#thread.#ft. colt winslow.#colt 001.#event: state fair.#timeline: post fire.#coltwinslow #dont try misdirect me i know that man is ab to shoot the fire #KSJHGFGSHJKL #also thank god even with a new fc the legacy of oakley in motion running to and fro somewhere carries on

+ ADDIE WIGGINS.

She grinned, acting seemed like a suitable word, sure it was just lying by another name, but it worked for her. She pondered his question for a moment, genuinely trying to think of what the answer would be. “I guess it would depends on how you’re viewing it,” she said, “I mean I stole a girl’s place on the dance team when I was ten, she thought that was pretty evil,” she joked. “I’d say probably telling a guy that his mom was cheating on his dad…” she admitted, “I mean, it was mean, no other reason to do it except to piss him off.” She shrugged, “but there is probably something worse that’ll come to me at some point.” “You?”

Oakley listens to her confessions with the look of a man enthralled, granted there was nothing completely sinister in her words but there was any life experience given was an insight and he appreciated that more than most. His whole life was dedicated to the study of people, what good they did, what bad they did and everything in between.

“That’s a hell of a way to piss someone off.” He compliments, holding no space to judge that particular action. That was a regular faucet of his job, it would be hypocrisy to the highest degree to be dismayed by such a thing.

There’s a laundry list of instances he could share, all verifiably terrible but there was one standout amongst his past deeds that he ranked as a personal misstep because of the intention that lurked behind his action.

“I told my ex her husband was fucking around on her. Which was true, by the way,” He clarifies, glancing over the edge of the safety bar where his arms rested and down at the long drop to the bottom from there if things took a turn for the Final Destination. It was an even longer one to Hell, his mother reminded him of as much often and the concept of eternal damnation weighed heavy on him for a non-believer.

“But I didn’t tell her that because it was the truth or because it was the right thing to do. I told her that because I knew some part of her still wanted me same way I did her but she’s a good person, better than I am anyway, and I knew telling her that might sway things in my favour. And it did. And I still took off the next morning like she was the one who had pulled some shit. Jury’s still out on which one of those things are worse.”

He’s never actually told another person that, and as it hangs in the air he wishes he wasn’t strapped into a fair ride so he could put some physical distance between himself and his own confessions.

That was Oakley’s only consistency, he was always leaving wherever he’s been.

“Your turn.”

#thread.#ft. addie wiggins.#addie 001.#event: state fair.#timeline: pre fire.#addiewiggins #infidelity tw

+ JUNE WATSON.

starter for @oakleyhall outside her iron hill house –

“– That is my trash. Why in the world are you goin’ through it? Can I help you with something?” June shook her head. This was why she liked living someplace with a gate. She’d need to build a damn fence. This wasn’t out of the usual, she just wasn’t used to it since she moved to Nashville and was always on the road.

“-- Is it?” Oakley responds, letting the receipt he had been reading a second before fall back amongst the waste like a lone scrunched up snowflake before he removed his hands and wiped them together, mind scrambling for a reason he could give for his poor imitation of a racoon.

“Huh. I’ve gotten myself all kinds of turned around, my bad.” He takes a step backwards from both the trash and the woman who caught him redhanded, deciding against feigning Dementia. That had only worked the one time and he still had to keep it up whenever he ran into Mrs. Wilkinson at Horizons.

“I know this must look strange as hell, but I promise I’m not a weirdo.”

#thread.#ft. june watson.#june 001.#junewatson #🦝

+ OWEN MASON.

Despite the history between them, the way things had ended, and how long it had been since they had spoke to one another- There was still something oddly calming and reassuring about having Oakley be the one to take a seat next to him. Unable to stop the smallest smiles from tugging at the corner of his lips as he watched the other’s hands come up and sign to him “Hey- I’m okay.” Owen signed back, slow enough to make sure Oakley was able to follow along.

Not quite for sure how much he may have remembered from the ASL he learned, Owen reached into his pocket, and pulled out his phone, quickly typing something on it before turning it around to let him read it. How about you? Are you alright? I was taking a breather from helping at the medical tents but if you need me to look over any injuries or anything, just let me know. Once more offering Oakley another soft smile, his eyes trained on him as they sit there.

The signal from him that he was okay -- as okay as one could be, considering -- sense an instant rush of relief through him. For a man so adept at sieving through the lives of others, it wasn’t often he let anyone into his own in any real capacity, but Owen had managed to be an exception.

When the phone screen was turned his way, he leaned in slightly to read it with more ease, his eyes scanning each line of text before he answers.

“I’m alright, I got lucky. I wasn’t anywhere near where it broke out. It took me a minute to even realise what the hell was happening.” That was the vodka’s fault. “How bad has it been?” It’s with that question does his gaze trail from Owen towards the medical tents, hoping that the other man had only found himself dealing with minimal casualties.

#thread.#ft. owen mason.#event: state fair.#timeline: post fire.#owen 001.#owenmason

unearthlydust

CHRIS EVANS GIFTED (2017)

#visuals.#gifted!cevans is the baseline oaks #look at him he looks like someone who would go thru june's trash unprompted #KJSHVSGHJKSH #if y'all remember back to like 4 hours ago when he had a diff fc no u don't and idk what you're talking ab #🫶🏼💀

+ VANESSA GABLE.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve saying that like I was hiding under a chair or something,” Vanessa informs him with a good natured smile on her face, arching a brow at him as she looks him up and down.

She’s surprised that he actually showed up, considering what a long night it had been. Her bed had been a featured character in her drifting thoughts since she’d taken a seat in the waiting room – not complaining when others with more pressing injuries were brought in before she had been.

“Nurse who looked me over thinks I have two broken ribs,” she explains, tilting her head back and squinting at the florescents before she looks back over the chair to him.

“I had that safety bar thing down over my lap and it got locked so when we started smelling smoke I was trying to shimmy my way out of it–”

Oakley looks away from her at her description without intending to, his mind had always been a vivid thing and her words aid in painting a clear picture that he didn’t like at all. It could have been worse, that’s what he told himself internally, and he’s grateful that it wasn’t.

“It started at the bumper cars, but I’m not sure how exactly. I don’t think anyone does just yet.”

He shifts in the uncomfortable waiting room chair, the brightness of the lights enough to nearly make it slip his mind how late it was. Entirely the point of them, he guesses.

“Did they say how long you’ll be waiting?”

#thread.#ft. vanessa gable.#vanessa 002.#rivergables

addiewiggins:

She laughed at this own confession, “I mean sometimes I lie for fun,” she shrugged, “but I like to call that -acting-,” she grinned. Addie moved forward in the line a little, “most of the time though I tend to be rather too honest.” Addie attempted to pay but he beat her to it, “okay, but the food is on me,” she declared. “Thanks,” she said as she sat herself down, moving over to the side to make room for him, “so, what’s the first question then Oak man?”

“Acting’s a good word for it.” He called it in the course of business, which is most likely why he often awarded himself total absolution. He follows on to the ride’s bench that’s designated for them, seating himself next to her. His arms are to his side as the safety bar is fixed in front of them, forearms leaning atop it instead immediately after as the time came for his first query.

“What’s the worst thing you ever did to someone?” There’s a shudder of the ride as they begin to move, slowly ascending in the ferris wheel’s circular path. “On purpose.”

#thread.#ft. addie wiggins.#addie 001.#event: state fair.#timeline: pre fire.#addiewiggins

where: riverside medical center.

for: @rivergables

“There you are.” Oakley says with relief, having traipsed around the entire wrong part of the hospital in his search for her. Urgent Care made the most sense for where she would be now that he’s both feet in it and looking down at her from where he stood, but as the night dwindled into the small hours of the morning he wasn’t at his sharpest after what felt like the longest night of his life.

He seats himself in an empty chair one over from hers -- even then, even there, distance -- looking her over like he might be able to identify and fix where it hurt through sheer wish to.

“What did the doctors say?”

#closed.#thread.#ft. vanessa gable.#vanessa 002.#rivergables

+ TORI JANESKI.

The only thing that Tori feared in this world was fire. Even just thinking about it sent shivers down her back and made her heart race. Now that she was basically surrounded by it? It felt like her heart would never slow down.

Glancing around for a way out, she started following what seemed like the only person still left in this area. At first she doubted her decision but once she saw that he was leading them somewhere safer, she sighed in relief. “Besides basically having a panic attack I’m fine. What about you?”

“I think my brain’s stills catching up to how this all happened so fucking fast.” Such was the nature of the unexpected, which he knows logically, but logic and he were playing catch up and he was losing.

He keeps moving forwards, putting more distance between the pair of them and the spread of fire that he had been battling against minutes prior, regarding her with curiosity.

“Where were you when it broke out? Were you hurt?” If so, he would need to realign the objective of his current stride.

#thread.#ft. tori janeski.#tori 001.#event: state fair.#timeline: post fire.#torijaneski

+ ADDIE WIGGINS.

She nodded, “like the tree,” she reiterated, hoping to force it into her memory somehow. Addie was good with people but she wasn’t particularly good at remembering names. She nodded at the question, but when he went on about the idea of perfect strangers her eyebrows knitted together, he was talking far too much for her to really understand. When he finally got to the end of it she shrugged, “sure,” she said simply, a very short answer for his long winded explanation. “I don’t lie anyway,” she smiled.

It was true, Addie wasn’t one to hide behind lies, in fact growing up she tended to say a little too much. Her aunt and uncle didn’t always tell her everything growing up, unless they wanted it to be public knowledge. She didn’t see the benefits in lying, truth had always worked out well for her. “Just no getting kinky on me,” she said plainly.

“For real?” There’s an air of skepticism about him now at that statement, one that morphs into something akin to being impressed. “Gnarly. I lie all the time.”

( That, ironically, was truthful. )

Six people ahead had become two during his longwinded spiel, which then became zilch as they reached the front of the line. He holds up two fingers like a peace sign to indicate the number of tickets he required, paying for them before he’s walking up to stairs that lead to the empty suspended gondola that would carry the pair of them, indicating for her to seat herself before he did.

“After you.”

#thread.#ft. addie wiggins.#addie 001.#event: state fair.#timeline: pre fire.#addiewiggins

+ OWEN MASON.

Who: Open Where: State Fair When: Post Fire @ironriverstarters

As soon as the fire had broken out, there was one place Owen knew he would find himself. And that was helping at the triage, handing out medical help to any of those who needed it. He had lost track of time, didn’t know how long he had been inspecting burns, patching people up, and the likes. But it seemed that the commotion was dying down some, they weren’t nearly as swamped as they had been at the start. He wiped his hands on his pants, looking around to make sure there wasn’t a line of people standing around to be tended too. While things looked like they were currently under control, Owen grabbed a bottle of water and headed out of the small area. He needed to take a breather, even if it was just for a few seconds.

Finding an empty picnic table, Owen perched on top of it, taking a long swig of water, eyes scanning over the fair grounds. It was hard to wrap his head around what had just happened. He had been coming here for years, for as long as he could remember. It was one of those places, one of those things he could count on happening every year. Something that brought him such joy and now it had erupted into chaos. Familiar faces coming in and out of the triage- He rubbed at his temples down, letting his eyes fall close for a moment, regrouping him, regaining his energy so he could head back inside the tents and offer assistance once more. As he blinked his eyes open, he felt someone sit next to him, turning towards them, Owen offered them a small smile.

There was a joke to be made once Oakley met eyes with the person next to him, something about of all the picnic tables in all the burning State Fairs in all the world, but he doesn’t say it. He doesn’t need to, he’s sure. It’s been a while since he last spoke to Owen, too long most likely, but time never changed the fact he found his presence calming even in a real life catastrophe.

Hey, He signs, needing a second so he can remember the motions that will get his words across, you hurt?

He speaks what he’s trying to say verbally as well, hoping that that would make it easier if his ASL was incoherent. From look alone, it seemed like Owen was fine, but he wouldn’t be able to let go of that concern until he knew that for sure.

#thread.#with: owen mason.#owen 001.#event: state fair.#timeline: post fire.#owenmason

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