#crhq:starter

[ziggilbert]

WHO : @crhqstarters​ & Ziggy Gilbert. WHERE : Callbacks, over the bar. WHEN : Tuesday, 21/04. Near closing.

Tuesdays were not the strong suit of Callbacks as a venue. It was, like most bars, the kind of place that lived at the weekend and clawed its way through the rest of the week. Similarly, Ziggy was clawing his way through the last hour-and-change of his shift. It was the slowest part of an already slow night; the customers were few and far between, and performers even less so. The few that did take to the stage were... trying. He was nowhere near the calibre of a professional himself, but he knew a thing or two about music. He liked to think he had a right to critique them in his head, at the very least.

With a wince, he endured the current singer's loud, blaring, mic-clipping belt. He needed something more distracting than wiping down glasses. Flopping the rag over his shoulder Ziggy strode across the bar, stopping just short of one of his few remaining patrons. "Can I get you another one of those?" he asked, with a silent plea of please say yes. "Or maybe something different? Like a cocktail that means I have to use the blender?"

[lincolnonline]

text | link & open

LINK: i'm here to pose a question to you.

LINK: let's say, hypothetically, an ex-bf of mine hypothetically texted me and hypothetically asked me if i was ever hypothetically planning on going back to paris, which i were we hypothetically met. what does one say?

LINK: i also hypothetically hate his bitch ass but i'm trying to pretend i don't.

[candymotta]

𝐖𝐇𝐎: Candy Motta & @crhqstarters​​​

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: Monday, March 1st

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: WMHS

Graduation was only two months away – and Candy couldn’t wait to get out of high school once and for all. There was nothing left for her in Lima besides for her mom, so she wanted to go to LA where she knew that she was going to be famous and live her best life there. But first, she needed to survive the next two months – as she was walking down the halls of McKinley High and after seeing some loser crash into another one in their skateboard, Candy leaned against the lockers next to a familiar face. Looking over at the person that was standing by their locker, Candy let out a small sigh. “Do you ever get tired of this school? Because I know I can’t wait for graduation, so I can just leave this place. Don’t you feel that way?” Candy asked to the person, raising an eyebrow at them – it wasn’t usual for Candy to just start talking to someone like that, but there she was, watching the people walk past the halls and talking to each other. “Do you think that I’ll be able to wear a pink gown for graduation? Because I’ve seen that red gown and I know it’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. Pink is just my color and Remington should just know that.” She said with a small smile, before reaching for her phone that was on her bag as she started mindlessly scrolling on Instagram.

[briannajones]

TEXT: bri + open

BRI: what are you doing this weekend?

BRI: idk if i'm down to party, but i wanna do something!

BRI: bring good energy into the new month, yk?

[cheeriosaurora]

Time: Sunday afternoon, January 31st, 2021

Location: local thrift store

Status: Open!

Aurora was currently in the midst of doing one of her favorite past times, shopping! She had today off from work and she thought she’d spend the late afternoon getting a coffee and looking for some new statement pieces for her closet. Looking through the winter apparel, she noticed one that she thought was pretty cute. Glancing over, she asked for the person closest to her. “Hey, can I ask for your opinion on something? Do you think this would look cute with a skirt and some cowgirl boots?” she spoke, her southern accent very much slipping through her lips. 

[eli-stjames]

OPEN STARTER

WHO: @crhqstarters​ & eli st. james WHERE: some little coffee shop in new york city WHEN: monday, 4/12

After a weekend of way too much debauchery, Eli needed a heavy dose of caffeine to get through her full day of classes. She impatiently waited in line at her favorite hole in the wall coffee shop, ordered a quad shot latte from the barista, left a hefty tip (former barista solidarity), and then made her way over to the nearest empty table to wait. Her first class didn’t start for another hour and what better way to spend it than lazily scrolling through her phone until she had to sit through two hours of economics? As she was sparingly double tapping on instagram, she felt a presence looming over the seat across from her. With an eye roll, she gazed upwards, only to soften when she realized who it was. “Oh shit,” she breathed out as a smile tugged at the corners of her lips, “I didn’t realize it was you. Why are you just standing there? Sit.” She gently kicked out the seat across from her so that the person she knew could make themselves comfortable at her table. Just as they sat, the barista called her name, so she muttered a quick “be right back,” before grabbing her drink. Upon her return to the table, she let out a sigh and shrugged. “I have some time to kill before class,” she explained, taking a sip and humming in satisfaction, “wanna chill for a bit?” followed by a presumptive, “how you been?”

[frannyfeltera]

who: francesca felter & @crhqstarters​​

when: 09/04, mid-day

where: the streets of new york, near callbacks.

franny really had played herself. she had agreed to having a new set ready far too easily and it was about to bite her in the ass. sure, she had the material, but she hadn’t tried to out at all. she had no clue if they were funny at all or where even new jokes. with a frazzled breath, franny grabbed the arm of the nearest person “ hi, not tryna be weird, just tryna get a consensus but do you find this funny? ” she said, words coming out jet fast as she scrolled through her notes app for the ideas she had jotted down. 

“ okay, so basically i do this bit talking about how i hate ending conversations over the phone and i compare it to elton john trying to end a performance of bennie and the jets and then the song starts playing. i, like, mime it and ham it up really big because it seems never ending. ” as the words left franny’s mouth, she felt a large amount of her confidence shrivel up and die big time.

“ well ....thoughts? ”

[leo-mccarthy]

ALL BY MYSELF

WHO: leo mccarthy & open ( @crhqstarters​ ) WHERE: the view WHEN: thursday, 2/4

Leo had a bad habit of skipping school. Sometimes he skipped first period to sleep in, other times he left campus for lunch and ended up skipping for the latter half of the day. On this particular Thursday, Leo skipped his last period for no reason other than he was bored. He was a pretty solitary person so he often chose to skip alone. Today was a particularly nice day, despite the cold, so he opted to go to the View and sit on his car for as long as he could tolerate the low temperature while he smoked and read his book. 

It was weird to be at the shitty overlook during daylight hours, but it was also kind of nice. It was quaint and he didn’t usually run into people, which was a plus. This time however, just as he was lighting his cigarette and pulling out a worn copy of Of Mice and Men from his back pocket, he heard some rustling behind him. Apparently he had some company. He let out a dramatic sigh before briefly looking over his shoulder. “If you’re gonna kill me, can you make it quick?” he deadpanned, rolling his eyes slightly as he turned his attention back to his book.

[theobeiste]

ARE YOU DOWN TO BE A DISTRACTION

WHO: theo beiste & open ( @crhqstarters​ ) WHERE: wmhs library WHEN: wed, 2/3

Theo sat by himself at a table in the conversational section of the McKinley High library. He habitually bit down on his pencil as he stared blankly at the AP US Government notes splayed out in front of him. Theo didn’t have the best study habits, but he tried. He was hopeful that as long as he kept coming to the library and spending some time with the material, he’d manage to snag 5s on his exams. However, after sitting in the library for an hour and getting little to no work done, he was getting frustrated. He needed a brain break. With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair and asked someone at a nearby table to watch his stuff while he took a walk to clear his head. 

Theo aimlessly wandered between the bookshelves, stopping occasionally to look at a title or another that seemed interesting. When his eyes landed on a very old and dense encyclopedia, he curiously pulled it out of its place to flip through the pages and pretend he was doing something. Just as he was about to put it back, he spotted a familiar face through the empty space he had created on the other side of the shelf. “Yo,” he greeted quietly, sticking his hand through the shelf and tapping the book they were holding to get their attention, “who you hiding from?”

[bentleylynn]

𝐖𝐇𝐎: Bentley Lynn & @crhqstarters​​​​

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: Monday, March 1st

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: WMHS

Everyone who went to McKinley knew that Bentley was a menace to society and even worse, for the students in there. Ever since his freshman year that Bentley had gotten used to it skating around the halls to get to places easily, even though he wasn’t great at it – after all, it seemed like he would always end up crashing into someone and falling to the floor while dragging someone else along with him, and this time it wasn’t any different. As he was making his way towards his chemistry class, he looked to the side for two seconds and the next thing he knew, there was someone in front of him. As their bodies collapsed to the floor, Bentley was quick to get up to avoid making things awkward and quickly reached out to help the other person out. “Dude, are you okay? I swear I didn’t see you there, I got distracted for like two fucking seconds.” Bentley said with a small shrug, before letting out a small laugh as he waited for the other person to grab his and get up from the floor – there were people staring at them, which wasn’t surprising since it had to be funny to watch something like that happen. “Don’t tell Remington or some shit like that, I’ve been called to the office plenty of times because of the skateboard and I don’t want to get in trouble like that.” He said with a shrug.

[courtlandmcintosh]

WHO: @crhqstarters & Cortland McIntosh

WHERE: OSU, union building

WHEN: 04/27. Afternoon, between classes.

Courtland’s first year in Ohio felt like it had gone by in a blink, but it was far from over. All things considered, she’d done pretty well - things were running smoothly for her family’s latest project, she’d gathered a respectable amount of credits, and she’d learned to talk to people entirely of her own accord. No twin in sight! It didn’t have to be for anything fancy either - although she still tended to rehearse most conversations in her head before they ever started. She had more goals though, ones that felt more personal. Making art with other people around helped her through high school; perhaps it could do the same through college?

She stood before a bulletin board, crowded with posters boasting various clubs and activities, with her own in hand. After painstakingly designing it herself, she thought it made a pretty good case for the club. The only problem was, she wasn’t sure if it was necessarily allowed there. This meant, of course, that she’d have to ask. Oh boy. Taking a deep breath facing the board, she steeled her nerve, and then turned to the nearest bystander. “Excuse me?” she began, with a nervous smile. “Hi-- sorry to bother you, but do you know what the rules are about this thing?” She asked, pointing to the bulletin board, and giving her poster a little wiggle. “Can anybody use it, or do I need some kind of… permission slip?” Oh no. That sounded kind of stupid, in the seconds after she spoke it.

[finnschuesters]

𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 ( open & finn )

WHO @crhqstarters​ and finn schuester. WHEN weekday, fifth period. WHERE under the bleachers.

FEBRUARY IN OHIO, was frigid, so finn was surprised to find anyone at all lurking beneath the bleachers come her fifth period off hour. her senior portfolio documenting a year in lima, ohio, had been coming along nicely, but other than her ex-girlfriend, there had been a demographic she was seriously neglecting. the crowd who hung out under the bleachers. it was a group of kids that were an essential part of mckinley high culture by her standards, and it felt incorrect not to include them in this project. so in the cold, she slung her camera around her neck, and trekked out to beneath the bleachers. while she could never be someone who cut class to smoke cigarettes, she didn’t shy away from a puff or two here and there. to make it known the class president wasn’t here to tattle, she gestured to the cig one of them was holding as if to say ‘can i?’ as it was passed over to her, she slid it between her fingers and brought it to her lips for a drag. exhaling a cloud of cold air and smoke, she began her pitch, “i’ve been doing this photo project.” duh. “do you mind if i just like...take some pictures of you while you do your thing?”

[davisgools]

where: lima country club when: december 31st, post girl of the year pageant

If there was one place in the world that Davis excelled expertly in, it was Carmel High School - however, the Lima Country Club was a close second. The Goolsby’s were nearly lifelong members of the Club, as well as yearly donors, so it was only fair that Davis viewed the venue as an almost kingdom for himself to run rampant. However, the Girl of the Year pageant was an event that brought... a lot of different breeds of people into his kingdom. It was weird, really, having to see so many people who hardly deserved a country club membership stomping around in his safe place, but he was mostly behaving. Kind of. Not really, but he was trying. The flask that was resting in the interior pocket of his tuxedo was surely doing the trick of cooling his jets from cursing out every ridiculous Lima loser that was trying to fit in. 

Davis needed to try harder. If there was one thing that his father had tried teaching him in his years, it was how important the ability of being a chameleon was in life. So long as Davis stayed true to himself on the inside, his exterior presentation was important for his ultimate success in the world. Right now? He was viewed as a demon. A monster. A menace to Ohio. That needed to change. As soon as Davis felt someone standing next to him, he grabbed the flask from his tuxedo pocket and held it in front of them. “Drink, yes or no?” He began, sighing with a playful smile. “I promise it’s not poisoned. I’m trying to share the wealth. Not everyone knows how to con the bartenders for drinks.” @crhqstarters​

[lincolnonline]

who: lincoln clarington-smythe & @crhqstarters​

when: 22/03, mid-day

where: the streets of new york, just outside link’s apartment. 

link was a busy man on the go, places to be & people to see and all that. and while the places he needed to be usually consisted of cafe’s and shoe stores, it didn’t diminish their importance. it was clear to anyone who knew him that link was thriving in new york, it was his kind of city. and ‘taylor swift’s sixth studio album reputation’ had taken a shine to it too, thank god. so it was only appropriate that link get her a sister. and now that ‘if you seek amy’ - a beautiful green tree python - was apart of the family, link thought it would be a genius idea to show her the big apple.

snake wrapped around his forearm, her tongue flicking out to the air, link and ‘if you seek amy’ made their way down the streets - pretty oblivious to the people keeping their distance as they realized that, yes, this man was walking around with a snake. as link made his way back towards his apartment building, he caught a familiar face in the crowds and - in typical fashion - made a scene out of making his way over, shooing people away with his free hand.

“ hey bestie, long time no see, ” link greeted with a smirk and he stepped next to them. as he did this, ‘if you seek amy’s’ head darted up, looking around alert, until link gave her a pat on the head with his finger. “ this is my new baby, ‘if you seek amy’. she’s shy but, don’t worry, she’ll be just as much of a bitch as he sister and her daddy in no time. ”

[santosnessa]

𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆 ( vanessa & @crhqstarters​ )

WHEN: candyland, 2/14. WHERE: girls bathroom.

 AS FAR AS NESSA WAS CONCERNED, candyland being a family friendly event was a load of bullshit. between coming to her own conclusions that rocky, her date, absolutely was not beard material and panicking that everyone in the breadstix vicinity was going to randomly be tipped off that she was into girls, v was forever grateful that vanessa-from-three-days-ago had configured the tampon machine in the ladies room to dispense little shooter bottles of alcohol. on and off throughout the night, she made trips to the bathroom for her minis. sometimes she brought friends, other times she shared with other girls in the bathroom, and all around the tipsy feeling that was settling over her ultimately calmed her mind and allowed her to get out of her head and start having fun. making a trip back to the bathroom again, she paused as the door never closed behind her. turning to the person, she raised a curious brow and smirked, “you wanna drink?” 

[angel-alexanderr]

open szn

who: @crhqstarters​ + xan puckerman when: saturday, january 2nd, 2041 where: chad warbler’s post new year’s party

xan was a good warbler captain. that meant he arranged and choreographed most of the songs they performed. but that also meant he was there for his boys when they needed him. so when chad warbler practically begged xan to dj his last minute weekend new year’s party, he happily obliged. he had spent most of the night on the turn tables, really keeping the party going. it was mostly packed to the brim with warblers and canaries, with a couple of normies from both of lima’s private schools. still, it was surprising to come across someone outside of those two groups in what seemed to be a pretty exclusive party. xan had queued up a couple of songs and left the dj stand to fraternize with the guests. he tapped a familiar silhouette on the shoulder and smirked as they turned around. “you look like you’re in your element.” he teased. “most people would have left after that drunk riff-off between the canaries and warblers. i promise we aren’t that pitchy sober.” he joked over the loud music.