pxrfctstrngrs

[pxrfctstrngrs]

Where: The Ocean Boutique Who: Lark @kissyourselfgoodnight

"You can justify buying nice things for yourself, Amelia, it's just a top! You are a tv personality and that means maybe you can insist upon it being a tax write off." Like most days she's managed to find some free time without work or Tilt to worry about, Mimi's having a pointed disagreement with herself about doing anything for her own satisfaction that isn't directly related to her career. Maybe the crisis is a little obvious, the way she's examining her reflection with a shirt held in front of her and a number of other pieces of clothing hung waiting on a rack nearby, but she didn't think she'd drawn attention, until she sighs, turning to beckon one of the glancing faces.

"Hey, you, you look far more fashionable and aware of trends than I am- Are we doing wide-leg jeans and sparkly tops again or am I just interpreting the way my mom used to dress as cool again since it's been a few decades?"

[pxrfctstrngrs]

Where: Greenview Courthouse Who: Danny @crownlessklng

"Just swinging by the courthouse, Anthony, you've got your doctor's appointment at noon today, so don't miss it, got it? I've got errands to run, so I can't- I know you're a grown man but- Christ." Mimi sighs, hanging up her phone and tucking it into her pocket as she climbs the courthouse steps, slipping through the heavy door and dropping herself smoothly down into the chair across from Danny's desk. "Gooooood morning Dannyboy!~ Hey, So, I know it's like, kinda early since I requested them buuuut you wouldn't happen to have those freedom of information act papers on the local court cases related to the college campus I asked for ready, would ya? I've got a big arts and crafts project taking up my dining room table and I definitely need those to ah... finish it." She straightens up, reaches into her backpack and sits a surprisingly undamaged box of pastries and a thermos of coffee down in front of herself.

"I have also, clearly, brought something to sweeten the idea of working with me on making that happen... quicker. Like... In time for my next show tonight?"

[pxrfctstrngrs]

Where: Sunshine Cafe Who: Rea @roadmosttaken

"Gooooood morning, beautiful~" It's Mimi's usual hello, bright and over the top- the Ward siblings had nothing if not a crippling optimism when it came to greeting the day- even if in Amelia's case, it was mostly fake. "Thanks for agreeing to catch breakfast with me, Rea, I needed to get out of the house today- Anthony's been skipping out on doctor's appointments, and keeping him to task is like herding cats, so I just need... a couple hours to do anything but be my brother's keeper- So like I said, this is my treat, you get whatever sounds good, because I'm about to wipe out a big ass plate of strawberry pancakes and as much coffee as I can down before I get sick."

She shuffles her ever-present backpack into the corner of the booth, adjusts her hat over dark hair, and puts her phone to the side- face up, should a producer, her brother- or anybody with something fun to gossip about need her attention. "How've you and Penny been? Feels like I've been like, the worst friend, but I swear I think this town only wakes up when somebody gets offed- I think we've both been a little busy."

[pxrfctstrngrs]

Where: Our Daily Bread Who: Halen @themasksheraid

"Oh! Mornin' Halen!" It's his usual pleasant greeting that chirps from the back of the bakery line as he spots the younger man entering. "You got an early day too?" He's dressed for more walking than work, his usual graphic tee underneath a wild-printed button-up from behind the counter or in the office at the Fun Palace discarded for a sweater and heavy wool coat most certainly meant to chase off the winter cold. "Have some pickups to make across town but ah, nobody to drive me, so I'm just gonna catch a taxi or an uber over there after I grab some breakfast and see if I'm gonna need more than Mimi and her fuckin' Kia to get it moved back to the boardwalk.- But it's not every day somebody offers you a giant plasma ball for the price of 'get it out of my son's old man cave' yanno?" He sends a quick text to his sister- then tucks his phone away, focus now entirely on the conversation.

"Oh right, I think we're gonna have to push game night back a weekend- Mimi's on a tear about the murder on campus, so we've got a whole... 'suspect board' taking up the dining room table at the house- I meant to text ya about it, but then I got really invested in the plasma ball..."

[pxrfctstrngrs]

Where: Greenview Fun Palace Who: Wren @crwnofthcrns

"You know I'm supposed to be closing soon- I already had most of the extra staff go home that wasn't important for the blacklight bowl thing I said the high school band could use the place for tonight- which I mean, is probably why you're here now, now that I say it out loud, because you're like, really good at turning up when next to nobody else is here, making me question if maybe you're like... a figment of my imagination." It's almost worth asking Tilt how he knows the person who's triggered the bell above the door is Wren of all people, when he's halfway buried in the underside of an arcade cabinet, until the mirror posted above the row of games quickly answers any curiosity to his potential clairvoyance.

"How's it hangin', Birdgirl? Any hot gossip from this realm or beyond?" He scoots out from where he'd been working, sitting up with a groan and writing a note on the pad nearby for the maintenance staff. Looks like a burned out motherboard. I'll order a new one off eBay this week- just keep it Out of Order. -T.W. "I swear, I've got gremlins or something- every few days at least one of these things goes on the fritz."

[pxrfctstrngrs]

"Taking advantage, teaching you a valuable lesson about betting on losing dogs, whatever you want to call it one of us is out a few hundred bucks with how much time you'll be spending inking a sick vulture for free or the sheer number of rounds of laser tag I know you can fit in a 12 hour period of the Palace being open." Tilt shrugs, laughing as Kirby spares a glance for Vincent. "He's on lunch, I think I can handle one briefing so I don't have to drag the poor guy back here to tell everyone not to point a laser light into their eyes." Kirby sticks to their insistence they're not a bad shot- that Tilt has been cheating the several times he's beaten them at this. "Okay, so I'm not going to take that away from you, but we are going to have to talk about managing expectations or whatever, because I've only got the time for one go around today before my lunch- so after I kick your ass, man, I'm gonna have to go eat that burrito I've been daydreaming about this whole shift."

He gives it a moment of thought, as he unlocks the door to the maze proper and everyone starts filing in- before he laughs. "Two weeks or you finish my full back piece? I think I can deal with those odds. But that doesn't mean you get to cancel appointments with other people to get more tag time- you keep your commitments, and we've got a deal. It'll make watching you spin out and cope all the sweeter."

"it's because i own the place and i still have booth rent i can rely on." kirby grinned already having that answer on lock (maybe because they've been asked it a couple of times before). "plus i still do tattoo's, i just also offer trades." they added as they followed tilt over to the laser tag area. putting on the vest their eyebrow raised a little, looking around for vincent but shrugged assuming he must have the day off. "i'm not a bad shot! and you do cheat, i don't know how but i'll prove it one of these days." they didn't actually think he was a cheater but it made their ego feel better. feeling themselves get stopped, kirby looked at him, tapping their chin in thought. "so you want to take advantage of my bad shot? hmmmmmm make it two weeks and you have a deal."

[pxrfctstrngrs]

"Shit, did you come back earlier? That's on me. My bad." He really didn't feel too bad about the inconvenience- if anything, it had felt good, to get a little stress off his mind, even if it meant causing a little more for Emmet. "Next time, I'll send a warning text, or something. Sock on the door's gonna get me into shit with the RA, and like, you know nobody really does that, right? it's like, a movie thing." He snorts, finally waving Emmet inside. He's sat on the edge of his bed, taping up his hockey stick, clothes still strewn on the floor- but mercifully, only on his side of the room. "I am wearing underwear again, before you have some kind of panic about that too... Wait, wait, wait, I'm sorry." He holds a hand up.

"Did you seriously just say 'doing the do'? I don't do the do dude, I'm a grown ass man, I fuck." He finally seems to finish his task at hand, setting his stick aside. "But seriously. I'll like, try and text, or something. I would hate to scar your delicate sensibilities, man."

who: emmet and cj where: their dorm @pxrfctstrngrs

usually emmet didn't knock on the door of his own dorm room but he'd also wasn't expecting cj to have someone in their room earlier. he took the hint however and left but was bored and now back, peeking through the door to make sure he was alone... and clothed. "oh thank god, you'd put a sock on the door if you were doin the do right? cause i don't want to walk in on all of that."

[pxrfctstrngrs]

"I mean I'd be willing to entertain the idea if I hadn't been half-famous already for things that weren't. Yanno." He knows Kaleb's trying to help, in a uniquely... Kaleb way, so he's not going to hold that against him. "Thanks for the attempt at a pep talk though. It's more than I've gotten from most anybody else." Tattooed fingers move to run through short-clipped dark hair, fluffing it back into place before he finally turns around. CJ looks like shit. He's not sleeping well, and every attempt to pretend this wasn't happening was met with the kind of public ostracization that he had previously assumed was reserved for losers and weirdos.

As it turns out, Greenview was pretty good at isolating cheating jezebels no matter what gender they were. "Unless maybe we're banking on the desire to throw like... rotten produce at me. You think I could bank on that? double dip on ticket sales and sell tomatoes with a fake mustache out front?- ugh. sorry. I'll can the self pity a minute. Did you need something, dude? Or are you just here to pick through the old props and costumes and shit? Because I'll let you take whatever, that's less shit I gotta try and pack into the boot of my aunt's '97 Subaru."

Kaleb wasn't sure what he wanted to say to CJ. There wasn't really much to say, and he wasn't great at condolences. Besides, the guy looked busy, so maybe he shouldn't be there at all.

"You know what they say . . . all press is good press," he said, knowing that wasn't the right thing to say but it wasn't like a tiger could change its stripes. Not this late in the game, anyway. "Even more people will probably come see you now that you're famous."

[pxrfctstrngrs]

Where: Greenview Public Library Who: Jill @murphysreruns

"Mr. Inomata. Take your skates off the study tables." CJ sighs, tugging his ice skates and duffle bag from practice off the tabletop beside him as the head librarian walks off.

"Didn't know my shoes were going to hurt everyone's pursuit of knowledge. Fuck." He rolls his eyes before returning his attention to the open books beside him and the half-finished report on his computer screen. Notoriously behind the curve on most of his assignments, CJ had managed, at the very least, to get his English teacher to pity him and give him an extension on a report that had been due in december- but now he was three days out from the due date and only 4 pages in on eight minimum. He'd come here for peace and quiet after hockey practice, but he's finding it hard to focus- especially when the pen to his iPad rolls down the table as his duffle bag settles on the floor. "Fuck." It comes to rest next to someone else's arm, and he calls out softly. "Psst. Pssst! Hey! Abbott. Can you roll that back over here?"

[pxrfctstrngrs]

Where: Campus Who: CJ and Kaleb @stormymists

"I don't know, man, I didn't exactly go about trying out for the show with the thought 'oh man it'll sure be awful for ticket sales if it comes out I'm our local scarlet letter!' but short of recasting me- which, I assure you, they can try, but it will make the show worse- there's not much we can do about it. Toss a fucking musical number in the middle featuring the ensemble so nobody has to look at my face, I guess." It's just CJ and a friend from theater clearing out the storage space today by the looks of it, racks of clothes pulled outside and a handful of boxes already stocked with props and costumes on their way out. He pauses, though, and whether it's the sound of footsteps approaching or the realization his companion has been inside this whole time, he turns.

"Oh, Hey Kaleb." He monotones, tossing another shirt into the box beside him and another onto the rack. "What's up?"

[pxrfctstrngrs]

All he wanted was a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich before he had to be at class, really- a short detour for something to eat before he had to get back to being treated like some kind of fucking leper. He was just egotistical enough to notice the way people looking at him had changed. It used to be admiration, or at least something that wasn't fucked up pity or abject loathing- In a way, maybe it's Tatum alone who might understand what he's going through right now- if not on the other side of it. It doesn't make him any more pleased to see her walking in, swearing under his breath and white-knuckling his coffee before speaking up. He's in a corner booth across from the door- a place to watch people without being watched himself. "Wait- Tatum. Hey... Look, we haven't talked since- Well." He doesn't like to acknowledge it.

Chloe's funeral made it real. Jason's didn't- Part of him feels like it's business left unfinished, haunting Greenview like ghosts. He wants to leave again.

"...Just, I've got like, an hour, before class, I'll buy you breakfast?"

where: blackbeard's diner who: cj ( @pxrfctstrngrs )

the last person tatum wanted to see was cj. it took all her might not to turn around and walk out the door she just went through to avoid how painfully horrible this whole experience was now going to be. she was a forgiving person and she was trying, it wasn't all cj's fault after all, but the wounds were still too fresh. for someone she once considered one of her closest friends, all she saw now was a complete stranger.

[pxrfctstrngrs]

"It just means that you have tried to reinvent the barter system enough times that I'm surprised you receive money for any of your services like, at all." Eventually he tracks down the key, before flipping the switch to notify the guests in the arcade a round of Laser Tag is about to start- accompanied by the appropriate amount of siren noises and flashing lights. "The armory awaits, Chief." He snorts, jumping the counter cleanly and walking off to unlock the doors. "You know the drill, vest on, check your gun against the targets on the wall so you don't get to say that I'm 'cheating you out of a well earned victory' when we both know you're just kind of a bad shot. I gotta brief the other bodies so nobody goes missing or like... covers themselves in mud to avoid heat detection, Arnold-in-Predator style." It doesn't take too long for other people to filter in- for Tilt to explain how to play. But there's one more aside, as he catches Kirby by the back of the vest. "You wanna make this one interesting? You win, you get a week of games free. I win, you finish my back-piece pro bono. Deal?"

kirby had no doubt that tilt would say yes to the game of laser tag but it was always amusing to hear what he'd say was an 'excuse' not to. "sick nasty." they said leaning against the counter as he searched for his things. "well you're one tattoo iou away from getting a bigger session tattoo so like that should count for something right?" this time instead of pouting kirby had an innocent smile on instead.

[pxrfctstrngrs]

It was rare that the Fun Palace was empty- positioned right on the boardwalk it drew Greenview natives and tourists alike with bright lights and sounds, and the sign out front promising double-token Saturdays had certainly helped attract what looked to be the higher volume of visitors that had positioned Tilt behind the registers with his cashiers, pleasantly passing out cups of tokens when Kirby arrived. "Oh! Afternoon Kirby!" He's pleasant as always, waving his last customer into the arcade proper before walking to the counter to give Kirby a once-over as they demand he join them for laser tag. "And leave my post? Abandon my loyal cashier to the waves of visitors that are shockingly high in volume for the dead of winter?... Yeah sure you got it!" He unclips his nametag, sitting it aside and patting himself down for the keys to the Laser maze. "Are you planning to pay to play this time, or are you going to give me another tattoo IOU about it- which I think at this point you owe me like, a bunch." It's miraculous he remembers even that much.

who: kirby and tilt where: fun palace @pxrfctstrngrs

one of the benefits of befriending tilt was being able to visit him when at work when kirby had a day off with no clients and that was sometimes rare. not right now though as they had that day, heading into the fun palace to come bother the other. "tilt, my boy, my guy, yooooooou should play laser tag with me so i can kick your ass in it. if you say no i'll be sad." for added emphasis they flashed a pout and batted their eyelashes a little.

[pxrfctstrngrs]

I'm a superstar // Give a fuck who you are // Kill for the cameras and lights // Can you see it in my eyes? // Don't these motherfuckers know I'm crazy!?

Name: Amelia Theodora Ward Nicknames: Amy, Ames, though most everyone calls her Mimi- a nickname coined for her late night show. Age: 35, DOB: 7/14/1989 FC: Kat Dennings Gender/Sexuality: Cis Woman [She/Her], Bisexual Occupation: Late Night Host for GVLN Channel 9. Residency: A small home in town she shares with her twin brother, Tilt Ward. Positive Traits:  Comedic, Capable, Family-Driven Negative Traits: Untrusting, Sarcastic, Gossip Relationship Status: Single [Open] Skeleton: OC

Aesthetic: The bad twin was always her brother so she could get away with murder. Leather and red-painted lips, the purr of a bike beneath her, the road is her closest friend, and unlike the black sheep she respected it. But at least he was a sheep- she’s a wolf, wicked toothed and hungry underneath fleece, a hyena waiting for the right kind of scraps looking after her cackle- a will to do anything to protect what’s hers. She failed once. Never, ever again.

HISTORY

A boston transplant in her early days, Amelia Ward was always the more cunning of the Ward twins, the one with the plan to put her brother’s might to work. They saw their first body at eight- they learned about murder at eleven- Sometimes she misses hushed discussions of who in town might be a killer hiding among them with her brother- She misses the other things about him far, far less.

Her family was loyal to a biker gang, and until Tilt’s accident, Mimi was a popular fixture at the local clubhouses, both of her own crew, and others. She was never involved in more than a little drug use and drinking, and knows nothing about her brother’s deal for amnesty in the face of a bust that spared her losing her beloved job at the local news station as a late night host.

She’s been the overnight host of the local news station since her early twenties, and is well liked for it, a sardonic, witty type capable of a clean, charming delivery with a sense of humor in most things, she fell into the role well, though she does have a tendency to gossip about things in a way that’s a little… disrespectful without thinking it through.

After the death of their father, and Tilt’s accident soon after, Mimi hung up her loftier goals of eventually leaving Greenview to look after Tilt, and when the prognosis declared he was likely to never be able to live alone again, she swallowed their lingering differences, and the two of them moved into a small home in town- it beat the trailer park they grew up in, and separate apartments, when there was always the risk of Tilt having an episode.

Her familial loyalty is unwavering, and in the face of murders happening around town, she’ll sooner sell anyone else up the river to save her and Tilt’s hides- though she maintains her own research, and a conspiracy style pinboard about the incident years ago- but she insists ‘true crime is in’ these days.

She's the only Ward who still has ties to the gang that quickly fell apart after the bust following Tilt's accident, though her colors and her motorcycle both have the patch for The Carnivale resolutely crossed out or covered over- she's just not in the market for giving up on good leather or a perfectly functional easy rider.

Far more skeptical and untrusting of others than her brother, Mimi tends to subject most everyone Tilt brings home to a substantial amount of scrutiny, up to and including background checks, if she can get away with it- this habit has not lightened, in the days following an actual, legitimate murder.

[pxrfctstrngrs]

Mama doesn't call // Sister never writes // Bet you they would laugh If I called to say goodbye // No ones gonna worry // Notice when I'm gone // No they won't know I'm missin' // 'Till they pull me out the Mystic.

Name: Anthony Mickey Ward Nicknames: Tony, Ant, Though most everyone calls him Tilt, these days. Age: 35, DOB: 7/14/1989 FC: Spencer Charnas Gender/Sexuality: Cis Man [He/Him], Bisexual Occupation: Owner and regular operator of Greenview's Fun Palace Residency: A small home in town he shares with his twin sister, Mimi Ward. Positive Traits:  Friendly, Welcoming, Fun-Loving Negative Traits: Scatterbrained, Short-Tempered, Childish Relationship Status: Single [One Confirmed Chem Test, semi-open] Skeleton: OC

Aesthetics: The colors and bright lights of an innocence lost then recaptured, the Arcade is home, but the machines are old and worn- he can never go back, not really, the blood on his hands stains buttons and while his teeth are blunted and he is muzzled there are people who remember what he used to be, razor-sharp and deadly, motor oil and rich, well-worn leather flying a flag of loyalty. There’s no cross on the bend outside of town where the bike crashed, but something died out there that day. The physical injuries are minimal, now, but his mind has never quite been the same- maybe the peppy chiptunes are as much a prison as gunfire and rumbling engines. Maybe he’ll never know.

HISTORY

Bostonian transplant when he and his sister were ten, they were present in town and old enough to remember what happened to Duncan Farley, only a year after their arrival. He had his own theories about what happened, but he was a child- he never spoke or acted on them.

Fell in with a rougher crowd in his late teens and early 20s, familial loyalty to a local biker gang led to Tilt becoming a runner and mechanic at only 15, initially just to get himself out of the trailer park they’d moved into.

He flourished in the art of violence and misleading others, and from 19 to 27, he was a prominent member of the gang, regularly running drugs and guns and building an impressive rap sheet until a bike accident late one night on a twisted, rain-slicked backroad nearly took his life.

After a couple years of recovery, largely only supported by his twin sister, after their single father’s death, Tilt found himself capable enough to reintegrate into society- but no longer the ferocious young man he had once been. He took a job at the Fun Palace as the mechanic, somewhere he adored from his youth, and put his general technical skills to good use keeping everything running- so well that when the owner retired when Tilt was 29, he was offered the opportunity to take over and buy the place out.

He spends most of his time now at the Fun Palace, and has a near-encyclopedic knowledge about arcade machines from the 80s to present day, and despite still requiring the presence of a carer in his day-to-day because of periodic seizures, Tilt Ward has quickly become a well-loved member of the boardwalk’s ‘regulars’.

Incredibly jovial with a kind word for everyone, Tilt is also a regular handyman, willing to use his technical and mechanical knowledge to fix things up for others, like cameras, TVs, Cars, and old equipment.

He doesn't talk much about his past as a biker, as many of those memories were lost in his accident, including much of the way he used to pressure, extort, and threaten the people of Greenview in the name of his former crew.

He has an open door policy for the young folks around town to come by the Ward place for anything- dinner, a couch to crash on, or a listening ear, and with his memory issues and general inability to really muster up judgement, many college students tend to take him up on this.

He has a quick alert button on his person at all time that notifies his sister Amelia and a handful of other trusted parties when he thinks he feels a seizure coming on, and this has allowed him to live somewhat free of a constant handler.

[pxrfctstrngrs]

He fills his void with drama and sex // A new partner that he barely met // His girlfriends home she's crying in bed // Wondering what he's probably doing instead // Hurt people, hurt people, passing on the pain...

Name: Craig Jasper Inomata Nicknames: CJ, Ceej, Jazz Age: 24, DOB: 10/10/2000 FC: Noah Sebastian Gender/Sexuality: Cis Man, Recently Outed Bisexual Occupation: Full-time Music production and Theater Student, teaches guitar lessons and works with the local theater to make ends meet when he's not touring with his band, Set the Hook. Extracurriculars: Hockey, acting with the school's theater/community theater. Dorm Room: 101 Positive Traits: Confident, Charming, Focused Negative Traits: Disloyal, Jealous, Self-serving. Relationship Status: Recently Single, considering somebody stuck his boyfriend like a pig. [Chem Testing. Open for flings/temporary partners/etc] Skeleton: The Pariah

Aesthetics: The spotlight shines so tantalizingly close but never on him directly, always hanging over someone they loved better, someone sweeter or more ‘masculine.’ Now it lights up nothing but corpses, and he’s still secondary. Anger and blood released through music and mayhem, split lips and messy dark hair. Everything he touches becomes a black hole, supermassive and swallowing, and he’s never even once been allowed to be a star.

HISTORY

tw: Cancer mention, Child neglect mention, both brief.

Born an only child to an unfit mother and a father with no want for him, CJ was raised by his mother's sister Chiho Inomata, and has lived in Greenview his entire life, spending much of his early life helping her with her florist shop and focusing on schoolwork.

He'd meet Chloe Manner in elementary school, and the pair would quickly become inseparable, an unstoppable force of paired musical talent by the time the two were in middle school, Chloe and CJ were the "it couple" of the art circles in their school year.

Regularly taking the shared lead positions in High school plays, solos in choir, and even being in marching band as a drum corp member and a color guard performer, there was nothing in the arts they couldn't make a second home, and it quickly earned the two of them full ride scholarships their senior year of high school.

While finishing high school and preparing for college, CJ and Chloe found some notable recognition through their band DIGITAL HEX, where Chloe took on vocals and CJ did her production. They were set to go on their first international tour when the pair were 19, before Chloe fell ill.

She would hold out for a few years after the cancer diagnosis, with CJ a stalwart companion, and her family happy to have the normalcy of him around for both themselves, and Chloe. But she would lose her fight at 21, and CJ would quickly find himself lost in the lurch.

He'd be single for years, focusing on college, hockey, and his new band Set the Hook, far less acclaimed than his first one with Chloe, they struggle to book shows, and as of their return home eight months ago, haven't been on a tour since.

CJ would start seeing Jason through a mutual friend, and they hit it off- he knew that Jason had a girlfriend, but held onto the vain hope that perhaps eventually Jason would leave her for him.

It became clear around the time Jason was killed that CJ was likely being played: Small towns weren't kind to 'gay' sports stars, and no matter what Jason insisted upon, CJ knew deep down that to accept they were together meant destroying a number of things important to Jason's reputation- something that mattered far more than CJ ever could.

Upon Jason's death he's been outed as both a cheater and as bisexual, and he's not quite sure which one most people take issue with, if he's honest. Once popular and well-liked, he's now been reduced to someone most people only bother to speak to if they absolutely must, and is constantly looking over his shoulder- sure that if someone offed Jason, that he's next up on the list.

[pxrfctstrngrs]

~tag dump~