the sky is falling.

elijah mckinney. twenty-four. host of bump in the night.

[ofmckinney]

( justice smith. genderfluid. he/they. starman & david bowie. )  well, would you look at ELIJAH MCKINNEY this year? i’ve heard they’re a full TWENTY-FOUR years young, and a(n) PODCAST HOST & BARISTA at STARBUCKS. you can always find them sipping a BLACK COFFEE while they RECORD VOICE MEMOS FOR LATER. when dusk falls, you can usually find them heading home to BROOKLYN by SUBWAY. ( deanna. 26. she/her. est. )

Despite being born in Atlanta, living in New York City is all Elijah remembers. He was four years old when his mother passed away from cancer, and his father relocated him and his son to Queens, where he had grown up. They lived with Elijah’s grandparents for a while until they eventually got their own place. The neighborhood of Flushing will forever be his home.

Elijah and his father get along pretty well, for the most part. Their affinity for weird things started when he was young, and while his dad tried a lot to understand them, Elijah’s father and him would never completely see eye-to-eye. But he’s always been supportive, for the most part; every Christmas he bought Elijah the weird books about mothman and vampires on his list, and when he showed interest in starting his own podcast, he recommended that his son should take some audio classes before getting into it. 

Elijah’s weird. He’s a weirdo. (But actually.) 

No, they’re actually a giant fucking nerd, the kind of kid that was always at the top of his classes and graduated as valedictorian in high school. It came naturally to him, with hardly any effort shown. He was friendly and always easy to talk about, that approachable person you could gladly ask for help with homework.

Unfortunately, he also had a bit of a reputation for being an odd duck. From an early age, they’ve been OBSESSED with things that go bump in the night: vampires, werewolves, aliens. Especially aliens. With diarrhea of the mouth, anyone put in front of him is subjected to long rants about it when they get themselves started. And if you ask questions? Expect to be there for hours. They’re sweet, but they don’t entirely understand social cues.

It was because of this that they decided to make a podcast dedicated to talking about different fictional creatures and the likelihood they’re around. At least once a month he talks about the latest alien news or rumors swirling around, because it’s aliens he’s most interested in (two semesters of Astronomy would do that to you, apparently), but it’s mostly a fun outlet for them to get their thoughts out in the world. It has a decent following, though they’re nowhere near famous; but hey, if you’re looking for some good supernatural discourse, Bump in the Night is the podcast for you.

Elijah went to school for creative writing, and as such, he’s currently working at Starbucks as a barista. Having gone to school at NYU, they moved to Manhattan for a few years to live in the dorms, but is now residing comfortably in Brooklyn with his roommate and best friend. 

They’re full of fun or not-so-fun facts, that they feel the need to tell everyone, always.

Has a pet chameleon named Linus.

Elijah is super open-minded. Probably too open-minded. He doesn’t actually know anything serious about the supernatural, but he has done his research. And right now he’s very interested in the whole crows-dropping-from-the-sky thing. 

[ofmckinney]

location :   the strand bookstore

featuring :   @caracrowers​

“ CARA, HEY ! ”   his entire face lights up when he recognizes the blonde, stuffing the book between his arm and the side of his body as he moves to quickly close the distance between them.   “ i didn’t expect to see you here. ”   mostly because the chances of running into someone in new york city is one in a million, but if there was somewhere to do it, it WOULD be one of the biggest bookstores in all of the city.   “ do you come here often ? ”   he asks, before realizing how that sounds, making his grin turn sheepish.   “ not, um, like that, i mean. anyway. i’m just here picking up a few things for christmas—and for myself. ”   grabbing the book wedged to his side, he offers up the cover to show her :   ROSWELL :  THE ULTIMATE COLD CASE.   “ some research for my next episode, ”   he says, still talking, seemingly unable to offer any silence for her to get a word in.   “ anyway. what are you up to ? ”

[ofmckinney]

isaacgeun​:​

He had been drinking his coffee, just watching the scenes unfold him. Sure, he liked interacting with people, but he loved people watching even more. “Oh,” he said, cringing as he saw a girl collide with another near a jewelry stand before looking next to him. “You people watching too?” he questioned, grinning as he took another sip

ELI LETS OUT A GROAN THE SAME TIME SOMEONE BESIDE HIM DOES, a smile sliding on his lips at the stranger’s question.   “ is it that obvious ? ”   he laughs, though he feels better about getting caught for something they’re doing as well.   “ it’s impossible not to, at places like this. it’s more people than breathing room. but one of my favorite places to people watch is the ice skating rink. you see a ton of people wipe out. ”

[ofmckinney]

rachelnazeri​:

“YOU’RE TOTALLY BRAGGING. Hey, I’m her daughter, therefore I get rights. You can’t beat that!” She returns the grin, shaking her head as she suppresses the urge to laugh. His words have him shaking her head. “You know, confidence is a beautiful thing, but it won’t get you anywhere this year.”

“ IT’S NOT MY FAULT I’M THE KING OF GIFT GIVING, ”   their hands raise in the air, though eli doesn’t look the least bit sorry.   “ i’m not confident about much, but i’m confident about what i’m good at :  writing, navigating the subways, gift giving. don’t tell me you don’t agree, rach. ”

[ofmckinney]

ofpaintedlullabies​:

“You asked so politely that I didn’t have it in me to say no.” She responded with a smile, knowing that this would of had a completely different outcome had he not been so pleasant. “I haven’t seen anything falling out of the sky lately, should I be on the lookout for some?”

ELI CAN KEEP HIS CHEEKS HEAT UP AT THE SIGHT OF HER SMILE, having to look away and clear his throat to get his mind back on the task at hand. birds. falling from the sky. right.   “ ah, maybe, ”   he chuckles, looking back over at her.   “ no, but there was one night in october where a whole bunch of crows dropped from the sky at exactly midnight. it was eerie. do you wanna see a video ? ”   he’s already taking out his phone to google it, trying to balance the mic in his hand at the same time.

[ofmckinney]

gabrielferreiras​:

     “I’M SURE SOME PEOPLE DON’T,” gabriel answers with a shrug of his shoulders. he can’t think of anyone personally, but he knows there are scrooges out there. he purses his lips at him, a little hurt that eli thinks that. “of course, i like christmas.” does he love every aspect of it and looks forward to stuff like this? absolutely not, but he doesn’t mind. gabriel raises one of his middle fingers, rolling his eyes. “because it’s a public market. maybe i’m looking for a gift for somebody.” he absolutely isn’t, he’s just wanting maybe free booze and to see what’s all going on. “why are you here?”

“ JEWISH PEOPLE, MAYBE. or... what’s that religion that doesn’t celebrate holidays ? ”   eli asks, the name on the tip of his tongue, but he just can’t remember.   “ well, good. i’m glad to hear it, ”   he grins.   “ i got your gift already, by the way. you’re gonna love it. ”   not to brag  ( totally to brag ) ,  but eli is a pretty exceptional gift-giver... so long as he’s known the person long enough.   “ who are you shopping for ?   i’m looking for something for rachel. she’s always so hard to shop for. ”

[ofmckinney]

ofchemicalgardens​:

Rhine let the silence sit between them, eyes flickering back and forth between the mic. Despite crashing on Eli’s couch every so often, Rhine found himself out of a bed here and there when he stayed out too late. 

“Yeah, that’s around the time the clubs start to close,” He said, finding an alibi as to why he had chosen Central Park of all places for a cat nap without going too into detail as to what caused him to crawl no farther than the park. “It was really late, and half the time the birds are squawking around anyways. If I did hear it while I was asleep, I didn’t think much of it. So, yeah, one in the morning and it smells like death and I’m thinking someone fed them the wrong bird food until I realize it’s all over the place.”

“ REALLY ?   typically clubs don’t close until four in the morning. ”   he’s never been to clubs that north of manhattan though  ( rarely does he go to clubs in general, actually ) ,  so maybe they do it differently up by the park. really, eli just can’t help but think how lucky he was to not have been waken up to a dead bird DROPPING on him, but the description of it all makes their nose wrinkle, trying not to recoil at the picture he paints.   “ what do you think caused such a thing ? ”

[ofmckinney]

percyxsavoy​:

“Even better, a podcast.” Percy rolled her eyes, looking back at the microphone. Sure, she knew nothing about the crows could be considered natural. She wasn’t going to just say that to some random person off the street, though. “That depends. What kind of supernatural forces do you think could have caused it? I’m impartial to the boogey man. Or, oh, Frankenstein!”

ELI’S USED TO COMMENTS LIKE THAT, so none of it phases him.   “ well, that’s kind of what i wanted to ask you, ”   they turn the question back around on them, moving the microphone a little bit.   “ seriously. what do you think was behind it ?   have you ever seen so many crows in new york city before ?   because i’ve lived here my whole life, and i haven’t. typically crows are a bad omen, often to do with witchcraft. ”

[ofmckinney]

gabrielferreiras​:

     GABRIEL ROLLS HIS EYES, refraining from not saying anything else. he’ll just wait to see how long it takes for eli to say something; his best is five minutes. “you’ve never told me you like christmas,” he points out, but he could have. gabriel’s known to forget things. “and you make it seem like i’m a hermit.” because he is. “i go out sometimes. this is one of those times.”

“ WHO DOESN’T LIKE CHRISTMAS ?   that’s like not liking puppies, man. ”   honestly. eli shakes his head exasperatedly.   “ do you like christmas ? ”   he asks, already prepared for an answer he doesn’t like.   “ i mean... if the shoe fits, ”   they smirk over at him, before shoving him lightly with a laugh.   “ no, seriously. why are you here ? ”

[ofmckinney]

miyamctos​:​

          “  AT  THE  MOMENT  ,  ”  satomi  starts  ,  picking  up  one  of  the  switchblades  .  “  i’m  shopping  for  myself  .  ”  they  immediately  recognize  the  voice  of  their  childhood  friend  .  “  what  about  you  ?  ”  they  ask  ,  finally  glancing  up  from  the  switchblade  in  hand  .  “  they’ve  got  a  lot  of  cool  stuff  here  .  ”  including  weaponry  which  is  always  a  plus  for  satomi  .

THERE’S NOTHING COOLER THAN SATOMI HOLDING A SWITCHBLADE, even if it also freaks eli out a little. he doesn’t need to know what they are exactly know they can probably do serious damage with that thing.   “ oh, that’s cool. early christmas present for yourself ? ”   they offer, with a smile.   “ ah, i’m looking for my old man, but i don’t think he’ll have much use with a switchblade. i should probably keep walking. ”   but he doesn’t, because he’s too interested in seeing satomi around.   “ any recs ? ”

[ofmckinney]

rachelnazeri​:​

“I’M GETTING HER AN AMETHYST NECKLACE, you know since amethyst is her birthstone. I’m obsessed with it,” she answers, picking a blue beanie and checking it out. “You’re totally bragging.” She scoffs, despite the fact that the present he got her mom last year was pretty amazing. “What are you getting her this year?”

“ I’M NOT BRAGGING !   i’m just setting up the stakes for you, ”   he grins over at her.   “ but okay, i’ll try to stay away from jewelry, then. i don’t know what i’m getting her yet—which is why i asked. i wanted to make sure whatever i get is better than yours, once again. ”   eli hip-bumps her lightly. 

[ofmckinney]

“ I’M SORRY... WHERE DID YOU GET THAT ? ”   eli can’t NOT stare at the food in the boy’s hands, because it looks like the most delicious thing they’ve ever seen.   “ and is it as good as it looks ? ”    @apollosfm​​

[ofmckinney]

“ CAN I ASK YOU SOMETHING KINDA WEIRD ? ”   eli asks the stranger, though continues without an answer.   “ what size pants are you ? ”   maybe it’s less weird because he’s currently standing in front of a display of sweatpants, but still.     @crescentkind​

[ofmckinney]

“ WHAT ARE YOU GETTING YOUR MOM FOR THE HOLIDAYS ? ”   eli asks rachel, glancing up at her from over a table of beanies.   “ not gonna brag, but i think my gift last year was pretty good. i don’t know if i’ll be able to top it. ”   because of course he would get the woman who practically raised him a christmas present. there were only three constants in eli’s life that they shopped for :   his father, rachel, and her mom.    @rachelnazeri​

[ofmckinney]

“ ARE YOU, UH, LOOKING FOR SOMEONE ELSE ?   or shopping for yourself ? ”   it’s not often he sees satomi around — much less in manhattan, and much less looking at switchblades.    @miyamctos​

[ofmckinney]

“ HEY. ”   eli nudges his friend with his elbow, before nodding over towards a group of congregated people.   “ christmas carolers. how much would i have to pay you to go over there and join them ?   like, stand in front and everything ? ”     @hanamun​​

[ofmckinney]

gabrielferreiras​:

     “PLEASE,” gabriel holds a hand up as eli approaches him. “don’t even start with your conspiracy theories about this.” for once, gabriel just might be enjoying himself.

“ WHAT ?   I DIDN’T EVEN SAY ANYTHING, ”   eli makes a face, though he’s quick to shoot the man a grin.   “ can’t a guy just like christmas ?  what are YOU doing here ?   i didn’t think you went out. ”