#josephconway

[ejikeabara]

Interviewee: @josephconway Locale: Cosmo Bar

Ejike was exhausted. Quite frankly, he couldn't remember a time when he'd been this tired. He'd always felt guilty that his father was in a home, but after having him at home for a couple days he remembered why he made the decision in the first place.

He yawned as he walked into Cosmo Bar. The place was fairly busy for a Friday night, but it would certainly get busier as the night wore on and the band started to play. His preferred seat at the bar was taken, along with most others. Scanning the available seats, he saw a familiar face and walked over. "Buy you a drink?" He asked, flagging over the bartender.

[soximena]

@josephconway // adult paint night

with a lip pulled between their teeth and brows furrowed, ximena stroked their brush across the canvas intently, trying their absolute best to follow the given instructions to a tee. "how is she making those lines?" she curses under her breath, peaking over at joseph's next to her. "are you struggling as badly as i am? i like to consider myself an artist, but i'm starting to think i should just stick to music."

[cosmicallyhadlee]

Who: @josephconway Where: His house

That cabin had been abandoned for as long as she could remember. Every once and a while it would go up for sale, but it was never long before the signs were gone and there were rumors of people hearing strange noises and seeing lights. They knew it was teenagers screwing around (hell, she'd been one of them), but it meant the once-beautiful fell into disrepair.

It was big news when the house was finally sold, and even bigger news when the new resident moved in. Hadlee let him get settled in for a while, unlike some of the others around town. She figured the man needed some time to figure out what needed to happen with the house before having nosey neighbors come poking around.

She took the steps up to the door carefully - the wood on the deck wasn't entirely rotted through, but it had certainly seen better days. Balancing the tupperware container in one hand, they knocked on the open door frame. "Hello?"

[allegraricci]

Allegra was minding her own business when she saw Joseph fixing something on his house. She needed a certain help to repair something in her house too. One day she asked him to come over to her place to repair the sink. Once she heard the doorbell, she went to open for him. ❛ Hey, I hope you don't mind. Come in! ❜ @josephconway

[ofmajors]

LOCATION: white rabbit bookstore STATUS: closed / joe @josephconway

major pointed between the man in front of him and the picture beside him. "am i seeing things ? because, look, i won't lie to you -- i'm not running on a ton of sleep. so i very well COULD be seeing things. but... is that you ? in that picture ?"

[ofwinnies]

LOCATION: national write your story day @ light year library STATUS: closed / joseph @josephconway

as part of her therapy, winnie has been keeping a journal. how could writing your story be any different than writing a jounral entry ? well, for one, it was in PUBLIC. at least when journaling she could huff and pout in the comfort of her own room. plus, this all felt a bit too... formal for just a journal entry. was there supposed to be some narrative to their life ? they'd been an avid media consumer, but had never been a producer themselves. they look over to the man next to them ( a man whose work they'd been quite familiar with ). "are you, uh, sticking to the facts ? or taking this time to embellish a bit ?" winnie's attempt at a joke.

[atlasnolanarchive]

"You're on. Be warned, I have expensive tastes."

Excessive tastes was more apt, and if he was being offered a free drink he would make sure to order a triple to get value from it. He watches the other carefully, his attention shifting from the game to him and back again. When he's up, he takes his yellow piece and drops it into an empty circle on the other side of the board where there hadn't been any pieces deposited yet in an attempt to keep him guessing.

"It's getting real now."

@josephconway

"Oh yeah? Loser buys the other a drink then." Joe promised back, picking up a ain't red piece and dropping it into the Connect Four. He'd already plotted out his moves, he'd played this game a lot as a kid, and now somehow he was playing it again, as a grown man, after being dragged into it by some random younger man.

"The floor is yours."

[eunite-k]

I Hate Barchie

It happened. Betty and Archie kissed. Joseph Conway was killed. Veronica and Archie kissed. Archie Andrews was killed. Oops, sorry-- that last one was from my To-Do List.

[soximena]

a brief smile crossed ximena's features before a playful grimace took over, hand reaching out to push his shoulder. "gross," they chuckled, eyes softening briefly. "seriously though, you're welcome. it can't be healthy for any human to spend that much time out of the sunlight." even if her abuela had originally been the one asking ximena to spend time with joe, the more they met up the more she grew fond of his grumpy presence. "two weeks sounds fair to me. especially since i have band practice every week, gives me some time for my social battery to recharge, which i know you understand."

Joe looked at her with a soft smile, his eyes understanding. He did appreciate Ximena's attention and effort, even if they did it because they'd been asked to. "...Thanks. I appreciate your effort, Ximena." He told her, his words sincere, a weird moment between the two of them who were so used to playful ribbing and sarcasm. Joe turned away.

"You seem the type to be more challenging. Meet me in the middle and we say every two weeks?" He suggested, pretending to be their elbow.

[ejikeabara]

He nodded and shook the man's hand. "Ejike Abara." He thanked the bartender and handed over his credit card to start a tab. "It's a lovely house; you can see it in the bones. I'm sure it will look great when it's done." He took a sip of the beer: incredibly rich and earthly with just a hint of fruitiness. Yes, he thought he could become a fan of this.

He looked Joe over: the man looked tired, yet dignified. Like a man that had seen and done many things in this life and those things had taken quite a toll on him. Of course, he'd heard whispers about the house and it's restorer around town, but he knew better than to trust second-hand information. "What made you want to restore it, if I can ask?"

Joe had only been there a few months but he had quickly gotten used to people in Starlight knowing his business. He was starting to feel like he'd caused some big stir by buying the seaside cabin, but it had been so abandoned and neglected when he'd moved in, that it surprised him that people were so aware of it. Or maybe people around here were just nosey.

"Yeah, that's me. Hoping to sort the deck out in the spring, when the weather is a little warmer and less stormy." Joe explained. He really wanted to get the deck done, it was an eyesore and it was dangerous if you didn't know where to step. "I'm Joseph Conway. Joe." He offered his hands for Ejike to shake.

[soximena]

a slight pang of guilt hit ximena's chest at joe's remark. this feeling was quickly pushed under, their tough facade taking over and a scoff leaving their lips. "please, you know i have to do everything she says or i'm out on my ass," it was a joke, of course. ximena would move mountains for their grandma for nothing in return, but they had to layer it on thick. "still, it's nice to get out sometimes so we'll have to turn this into a weekly thing. or monthly, if that's more manageable for the likes of you." she jabs, a smirk playing at her features and leaning over to jab his side with her elbow.

"What about those annoying people who can paint and write? I think they should take a day off... quit making the rest of us feel incompetent." Joe said. He was doing his best to try and capture the light, but he had no skill or technical knowledge, and their instructor slash guide was busy being monopolised by someone far needier than the two of them.

"I like hermit crabs. I think they're charming. Hermit men... less so." Joe agreed that becoming a hermit was not charming. Although it was the way of many great writers throughout history... most of them ended up desperately unhappy and lonely and willing to let themselves connect with others. "Thank God for Bita, but you admit you only care about her feelings rather than my well-being. Which is fine, I respect the honesty."

[cosmicallyhadlee]

They waved a hand and shook their head. "Honestly, you're really not giving off serial killer vibes, so I feel pretty safe." They grinned. Maybe they'd watched too much true crime, but this man looked too sad and fragile to be a murderer. Which is exactly what you'd say before you got murdered, she though to themself.

"My mom raised me to help out when I can, and there's no way all the essentials work in there." They peeked around his shoulder. "Like, you're missing half your floor. So... Yeah. No pressure, no rush, the offer is there."

"Oh, right. Good. For you, I guess." Joe chuckled but there wasn't much humour behind his expression. He was suddenly aware of how sweaty he was, and he was worried about this poor person getting a whiff of him after they'd made the special trip to deliver food and neighbourly kindness.

"Thank you, that's really sweet of you." He took the Tupperware, looking down at it. He lifted his gaze to look at Hadlee, incredibly tempted by their offer. "...I know you might just be offering to be polite, and the polite thing for me to do is say 'thank you' and not take you up on it but... I would really love a hot shower. Mine is busted, and... the work here is... well..." He gestured down at himself.

"Are you sure you're alright with offering that to a man you've never met?"

[cosmicallyhadlee]

“Yeah no, you’re not loud at all. I live a few streets up and I can’t hear you. Can’t speak for your closer neighbors.” She let out a light chuckle, taking in the man in front of her. He was older than her, sure, but the weariness aged him like nothing else. She could only imagine how he was living in this dilapidated house. “I’m Hadlee,” they said and handed him the Tupperware of baked goods. “Just wanted to say welcome to the neighborhood, and if you need anything, like company, a place to rest, a meal, somewhere to shower, anything, my door is open.” They smiled, hoping their words weren’t too presumptuous.

The seaside cabin in the town where he'd used to visit as a child had been a romantic pet project, to renovate a home away from home for his future family. Weirdly, it had proved to be a lifeline, a place to run to when his second wife's affair and the resulting divorce had left him reeling. It was in a complete state - a fallen tree caused a broken roof, which he replaced in full... and now has to replace the water pipe, the entire floor, the rotten bathroom, the mostly missing kitchen... and after all that, he would need furniture to live in it, and to replace the outside decking. For now, he had a floor inside to replace. Which was what he was doing when another noisy neighbour came knocking.

With a sigh, Joe pulled himself up off the floor. He was sweaty, and grimy and everything, including himself, was covered in sawdust, so he must've been quite a sight when he opened the door to Hadlee.

"...Hello." Joe nodded, his expression tired but he was trying not to show it. He didn't want to make any enemies when he just got here... but he was emotionally stretched thin, finding it difficult to make friends. "...Everything alright? I'm not making too much noise, am I?" The circular saw and the hammering were loud, but he hoped his cabin was far enough away to not bother his neighbours.

[ejikeabara]

Ejike took the seat beside him and ordered two beer from the bartender in the other's taste preference. He'd had his fair share of beer and had yet to find one he really enjoyed, but maybe this would be the one. "You're the owner of that house on the beach, right? The one with the collapsing deck?" He and his father had taken a beach walk and his father pointed out the house. 'If I were a younger man, I'd have bought it to fix it myself. Fix it up nice for Nnenne and Ada,' he'd said. The two of them had looked at the house for a while and only moved when the current owner came out. If he was right (and he often was), the man sitting beside him had been that owner.

Joe was taking a break from the cabin. The kitchen was looking so much better, almost fully fitted with all the necessary components. After that, it would be decorating the inside of the cabin, and once the weather warmed up, he could start on the decking and the overgrown 'garden'. He was past the halfway point... and he needed a drink.

The offer surprised him, turning to look at the other man. There was no look of recognition on his face, so was he really just offering a free drink to a stranger? Maybe he was hitting on Joe... which wouldn't have been a bad thing.

"Sure, I'd love a drink. I'll take a beer, thanks."

[soximena]

after peering over at his, they couldn't help but nod, stifling a laugh. "yeah," they trailed off, making a few strokes on their own canvas before looking back at him. "maybe you should let the painters do the painting and they'll let the writers do the writing." teasing joe was all in good fun, ximena leaning over to nudge him with their elbow. "yes, actually. i never liked hermit crabs growing up and i have an even bigger distaste for hermit men, so you're working your way back into my good graces. you're lucky bita has a soft spot for you, or else i might've just let you stay in that house forever."

"I think I should stick to writing..." Joe commented, doing his best to paint within the lines. Who knew a bowl of fruit could be so complicated?

"Are you glad to have dragged me out of my cabin and slowed my progress into becoming a hermit?" He asked, turning to look at them with a small smirk. He was using their words against them.