for? OPEN where? the pharmacy
he doesn't look up as the door swings open with another customer, keeping his gaze trained on the open book in front of him – it's shirley jackson's hangsaman. he does, though, call out (less of a call and more of something about a decibel louder than a mumble), "we're, uh... there's a two-for-one deal on gauze and band-aids right now." and the only reason he says anything at all is because it's allegedly his job to upsell. today's bogo deal seems a little too on the nose, though, considering the town's latest events, but griffin didn't come up with the sale. he just rings it up. he makes a quick, barely legible note in the margin with his fading black pen and flips the page, hoping whoever just came in doesn't need to know where anything is. or worse, want to exchange small talk with him.
"fuck." cyrus hissed, most of his coffee hitting the floor, about a quarter of it soaking his tan pants. now he had to get another coffee and change his damn pants. perfect. he let out a breath, eyes meeting robbie's, "nah, it mostly got the floor." but now he was thankful that he always kept a spare pair of neutral pants in his classroom. he reached over to a nearby booth and grabbed some napkins, patting his pant leg with them and pasting a smile on his face, composing himself, "listen, man, accidents happen. might charge you for my dry cleaning, though." he teased. his eyes flicked over robbie, "did any get on you?" he held out a mostly clean napkin to the other just in case, "must've been a rough night, huh, doc?"
who: open to all! (capping at 5!) where: dolly's diner when: 5.43am
it was too early when he made his way into dolly's diner, after a long, boring shift at the hospital. it was like waiting for the other shoe to drop every night; at some point, something or somebody would make their way into his ER, and shit would hit the fan. it was just a question of when. still, this morning was not for serial killer theories but for coffee, and robbie let out a sigh when the sweet aroma of coffee hit his senses.
this morning already seemed like a mess, as when he stepped into the diner, he walked directly into someone else, spilling hot beverage between them both. "shit, sorry! are you alright? did you burn yourself?"
"Sorry... sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out." Griffin murmured, moving out of the doorway and into the room. He felt bad, terrible even, that he had accidentally stumbled upon his mom having a moment he was sure she didn't want him to witness. But he was glad, too, that she didn't have to be alone right now. "Mom..." He shook his head, "it's alright." It probably sounded stupid, since nothing really was 'alright,' but he wasn't completely sure what to do or say under these circumstances. "We'll get it cleaned up, Mom." He whispered, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her for a hug, "It's gonna be fine, Dad won't see." Though, given the situation, he wasn't sure his dad would be worried about something so trivial in comparison to everything else. He let out a slightly shuddery breath as he hugged her, trying his best not to lose his composure. Griffin wasn't generally that composed, mostly a nervouse wreck, but he felt like he had to be now. He felt like he owed it to his family to be strong. His dad always seemed so strong, his mom too, maybe he just wanted to prove that he was a Talbot after all. Prove that he could handle the tough stuff and still keep his head up.
He pulled away after a moment, crouching down to deal with the clothes scattered across the floor, "Is there a... y'know, a system? A donate pile or anything?" He asked her, picking up a wrinkled blouse on the top of one of the piles. He figured Charlotte's meltdown wasn't just about the clothes, but he thought dealing with the mess was a good place to start.
closed starter with: charlotte and griffin (@chappcdlips) setting: "her" and nathan's bedroom, 6pm, the night before the funeral
Clothes were everywhere, piled haphazardly in no discernible pattern, and Charlotte sat in the middle of it like the eye of a hurricane. There was a wild, desperate look in her eyes as she picked through items, giving each a brief look before tossing it in one of her piles and moving on to the next. She’d been doing it for hours at this point, and was so lost in the process that she jumped when she saw Griffin in her peripheral vision. “Oh God, you scared me Griff!” She threw the shirt in her hand on top of a pile to her right, suddenly deeply self-conscious of the disaster zone she’d created, and a long line of explanation began to tumble haphazardly out of her mouth. “I needed a dress for tomorrow, and I didn’t have anything in the guest room closet, so I came up here to look for something, and I just kept finding all these old clothes that I never wear, and I started to think, why don’t I just donate all of these stupid things that are just collecting dust,” she rambled, her voice growing more strained as she spoke. “And now I’ve just created this huge mess in a room that’s not even mine anymore, and that’s not even mentioning the fact that I am apparently not capable of finding a single black dress that I can wear to your cousin’s funeral.” Charlotte choked on the last word, fighting the overwhelming urge to crumple in on herself. She mindlessly moved some clothes around, trying to keep her trembling hands busy, biting the inside of her cheek to maintain her faltering composure. “Can you help me get these clothes put away before your father gets home?” Her voice dripped with embarrassment. This mess was evidence of her unraveling- something Griffin shouldn’t have to see, and something Nathan couldn't see.
She shuffled into the kitchen, running a hand through her messy hair as she took in the sight before her, "So glad it's you and not the goddamn Boogeyman." The timing of the joke is, admittedly, horrible, but she's never been subtle. "What time did you get here?" Shreya thought she might have heard something in the middle of the night, but she figured it was either her brother or her cat. If it was anything else? She was willing to face the consequences and die honorably. "Now, if I bought even a single piece of asparagus, I think the world might end. The Boogeyman, who is obviously surveilling me as one of the town's top journalists, could notice my change in pattern and suspect me of knowing something and BAM dead." She sat at the small table by the window, sighing dramatically, "And you wouldn't want that, right?"
Then, Shreya sobered slightly, resting her elbows on the table, "I'm surprised you don't have to work right now. Is it not all hands on deck?" She asked, already thinking about what she may have to write about the incident this coming week. "It's really fucking awful." And there's no way to get through it but to joke about her own mortality, obviously. "What's the sheriff saying? Anything?" She added, "This is all off the record, by the way, I'll save my scheming journalist bit for at least noon."
closed starter with: darshan and shreya (@chappcdlips) setting: shreya's home, 9am, the day after the incident
His eyes fluttered open, and a strangled gasp forced its way out of his painfully dry throat as he struggled to recognize his surroundings, but the panic settled as the comfort of familiarity took hold. It was Shreya’s couch, in Shreya’s living room, in Shreya’s home, where he’d let himself in at 3am after finding sleep impossible at his own home. Darshan wiped the trail of drool off his cheek, sitting up and stretching his aching back before wandering to her kitchen, opening the fridge- only to see a truly meager selection of food between the tupperware containers of his own leftovers. A stray carton of eggs saved the day, and he’d set off to make breakfast when he heard the shuffle of feet. “Hey, lazy bones. Did I wake you?” His voice was casual, but there was an unmistakable horror laced in every syllable. How could he shake the guilt? How could he cope with the relief he felt when he confirmed that the young girl found dead in town hall was not his family member? As if that made it better- that the loss was not his own. “You should really get some vegetables in your fridge, or something, you know. Even an apple, or a single piece of broccoli. Give your poor microwave a break, before it unionizes against you.”
// ( spike fearn . cis man . he/him ) . ⸻ griffin talbot , a twenty-one year old , has survived another day in red creek where they have lived for his whole life . the introvert is known for being attentive and timid and is often associated with notes scribbled in margins, not speaking unless spoken to, long walks with no destination . in a small town where they work as a cashier at red creek pharmacy word travels fast . it’s hard to keep a secret , and it looks like the boogeyman knows that redacted .
STATS
full name: griffin douglas talbot hometown: red creek, mi sexuality: bisexual birthday: june 30 zodiac: cancer sun, cancer moon, capricorn rising height: 5’9” languages spoken: english, some spanish marital status: single children: none traits: attentive, imaginative, independent, timid, oversensitive, evasive
BACKGROUND tw drowning mention, anxiety
the youngest of the talbot clan, griffin knew from a young age that his family was a Big Deal
when he was little he liked the attention, he was a rambunctious and loud child, always running around trying to keep up with his older siblings
this changed when he was 9; that summer, he was playing in a creek with some friends, he fell into a deep drop off and in a freak accident his foot got stuck in a sunken log and he was trapped beneath the surface for too long
his friends eventually freed him but he had lost consciousness and was rushed to the local hospital
he lived obvi, but the event left him traumatized and embarrassed and anxious all the time
he started to withdraw, wracked with fear and anxiety, to this day he has pretty horrible social anxiety and is afraid to go near water
he exceeded all expectations in school though, getting great grades and eventually getting into every college he applied to, including his dad’s alma mater, princeton
but he decided to stay local, commuting to school from red creek
he’s in school to become a pharmacist which is why he works at the pharmacy part-time; he isn’t exactly passionate about pharmacology (he’ll happily collect those nice checks someday though)
PERSONALITY & FUN FACTS
painfully shy, social anxiety beating his ass daily
much prefers to spend time alone or with very few close people
reads a lot (likes horror, thriller, mysteries, but HATES true crime), plays videos games (idk which ones, i don’t go there), watches a lot of movies (letterboxd top four: star wars episode i, wallace and gromit (were-rabbit ofc), the parent trap, snakes on a plane)
really into herpetology as a hobby and has a lizard, bearded dragon named wallace, and a snake, rainbow boa named gromit
always has a plastic baggy of yellow starburst on him (he only really likes the yellow ones but will eat a different flavor if it’s offered by someone else)
has so many pairs of socks that he just keeps them in a large cardboard box in the corner of his closet
has never been in a relationship, is incredibly scared to do so and would not know where to begin
but definitely has a number of crushes and a tier system for them
writes shitty poetry and short stories for fun in a notebook he always carries around with his starburst baggy
in typical baby brother fashion, thinks his older siblings are the coolest people alive
a really good listener, he is observant and notices everything, so even though he’s probably not talking a lot he’s absorbing everything you’re saying
hates the prominence of his family name these days, would rather live anonymously as some local nobody than be in the spotlight
has had problems w insomnia since the incident at the creek, but he’s kinda okay with it bc more time to read and fall down a wikipedia hole or just go on a long ambling walk to nowhere
big into tea, never drinks coffee
sweet and very sensitive, like okay water sign
incredibly caring towards those he loves
character inspo: jughead (riverdale), fez (that 70s show), ferb (really a ferb sun, baljeet moon) (phineas and ferb), quentin (the magicians), marcus (the bear)
besides being a lifelong part of the town, shreya's gone to the memorial to cover it for the paper. she expected it would mostly be a puff piece with some in memoriam type parts to balance it, make it a respectful piece. but as soon as the veil drops, there's a gasp, and suddenly the piece isn't an article commemorating the town's losses. it's replaced with something darker, something hard to read and something even harder to write. "what the hell?" she murmurs, wide eyes flicking over the extra names, the names of people she knows, some of people she cares deeply about. when alara grabs her hand, shreya glances over, the realization that alara's own family is represented on the new list washing over her. "fuck. i... do you want to get out of here?" is what she asks, empathy bowling over the journalist inside of her.
LOCATION : the candlelit memorial , sometime around 5pm . open to everyone .
there was something so surreal about the things that were happening in red creek , for the first time the thoughts touching her in more than just a passing way . when she was younger , she had been so idealistic , protected by her parents and looking forwards to life . she thought now that maybe her eyes were opening little by little to what was really going on and how those losses must feel , empathetic heart bleeding more and more for those left behind . she isn't there for personal mourning but to think about the lives that have been lost , to consider the hole they left in the world and all their lives . then , the veil is pulled back and there's more writing than she remembers , a second for her brain to catch up to the foreign thing that is taking place ... she doesn't make a noise as others seem to have some kind of reaction . blink once . instinctually , she reaches out and grabs onto the hand of the person standing beside her , having came alone , separated initially from anyone . it is almost a knee jerk reaction but she doesn't let go , least of all trying to comprehend the presence of her sisters name . not a word spoken . fight , flight ... freeze .
he looks up, eyebrows lifting slightly at angela and the bag of rocks, "shopping spree?" though, he slips the bracelet onto his wrist without question and doesn't state the obvious - that he doesn't think any of this will protect him if the killer really wants him dead. "do i have to keep the stone in my pocket for it to protect me? or can it protect me from my desk at home?" he picks it up, running his fingers over the surface of the black rock, "i dunno anything about this crystal stuff." he admits. then, he gestures to the bag, "i hope you got some protective rocks for yourself in there too. otherwise, i'm going over there and buying more." and despite the recent loss of his cousin, all the victims thus far point to angela being a much more likely target then him, especially with daniela still gone. "and, y'know, maybe some pepper spray for good measure? a taser? how hard do you think it is to get a functional taser around here?"
𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. deer lake, around 7:30pm. 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵. griffin talbot. @chappcdlips
〔 🦇 〕 … 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗿𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, having gone to the sisters of the moon popup for a reading, only to come away with much more despite her disdain for the fundraiser in general. why should she give the sheriff's department her money? she doubts that they'll make good use of it, her trust in them has been dwindling with every second that passes without any updates on daniela. “ here, ” she mutters, handing griffin a hematite bracelet and a black tourmaline stone. “ it's for protection. i wanted to get you a few more things, but i thought it'd be overkill. ” she'd never admit it, but there's a small part of her that's a little paranoid. her sister is missing, her former babysitter is dead, and now her best friend's cousin is, too. despite the pattern, the killer is still unpredictable in ways, and she didn't want to risk anything before it's too late.