24
NOSY
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Post by JANUARY JOULE on Feb 29, 2016 16:10:29 GMT -6
i know that i can surviveIn a quaint little coffee shop in a town no one ever visited, a blonde drummed her fingers on a table, staring intently at her laptop, looking like the perfect little hipster who was overly caffeinated. She couldn't really keep track of the cups of coffee she'd ingested, to engrossed in her current project, or really lack thereof, to do so. She was trying to find something... anything to write about, but everything was pulling at blanks for her. Part of the problem was the vagueness of her job. Gossip columnist? Alright, so she was going to do what came naturally to her anyway, but what was the limit? Was she supposed to be the town gossip and use fake names as she dished out everyone's dirty secrets? Or was she supposed to report celebrity nonsense, like Leonardo DiCaprio finally winning his Oscar but still was clearly agitated by the practical pity win? She'd taken the meaning of the job as some sort of weird conglomeration of both, but determining which news on both sides was worth sharing would be the tricky part. Actually, no, scratch that. The tricky part would be trying to make her new job as exciting as her old one had been.
It still bothered her a bit that she had to come back to Sleepy Hollow. Not that she didn't love her home, but Jan had been fond of the adventure she'd been on in California, land of the sun and the scandal. Working for the Paul Ekman Group, LLC was one of the most rewarding careers she could have asked for- it was both stimulating, and occasionally she would actually get to do some good in the world, though admittedly that had not been her primary motivation. She'd learned so much from her career there, especially when it came to being able to tell if someone was keeping a secret. Rule number one, everyone, everyone has something to hide- the trick was to tell if that thing was worth digging out of someone's closet. More often than not, secrets tend to be harmless, but occasionally something really juicy comes out, and that's what made it all worth it. If she hadn't been shot by the a-hole that had come storming into their office building, January would still be there. Heck, if she hadn't tried to play hero and stop that girl from calling the police, she would still have her job and close access to the waves in good old sunny California. But no, she'd done the stupid thing and landed herself back where she'd started.
However, although January complained about it quite a bit, she wasn't really all that disappointed to be back. The supernatural element to Sleepy Hollow had always had her hooked, curious to see what kind of trouble she could find lurking behind every nook and cranny of this place. She loved the dark mystery that surrounded it all, the secrets. Such a small town it was, yet so much to hide. Of the mortal population here, she was one of the few, though growing, population who were clued in on the happenings of the place, and that fact excited her a lot. There was nothing that January loved more than being in the know, always seeing things more clearly than those around her. She was uncontrollably nosy in nature, and such a place like Sleepy Hollow was enough to keep her entertained for a good while.
The problem was figuring out where all the secrets were. When she was a kid, information had been easy to acquire since she was so often trusted and was really good at persuading people. However, a major shift had occurred in her home town since she'd left. The people who had long loved there were moving out, and newer, different people were coming to stay. Being the social butterfly that she way, Jan wasn't too afraid of it posing a challenge, but getting her foot in the door in these people's lives was going to be the hardest part of the process. She was willing to bet that more than a few of them were supernaturally gifted in some way or another, since that seemed to be the kind of crowd Sleepy Hollow drew in. That just meant that getting them to realize she was a trustworthy ally was going to be slightly more difficult than usual. Another benefit in California- the people there so often let onto their abilities, almost begging to be caught. Here, she imagined it was going to be a bit more tight lipped, which meant that information was going to be a bit more difficult to gather. Which also meant her job was going to be utterly dull until she made some friends out here.
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22
GOOFY
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Post by SYDNEY ROSEN on Mar 2, 2016 15:46:49 GMT -6
 let your troubles roll by So many cities and windows and lives and through each one there's a soul that strives to survive. So pay no mind, my sorrow's fine. The day is alive and that's why I cry. for a medium, sleepy hollow truly was a great place to live. it didn't get much better than this, unless you considered some place like an abandoned asylum or something of that sort. of course, working in a morgue provided she saw plenty of souls ciphering in and out daily, but that was to be expected. the age of the town provided she always had something not living to chat with. and while they didn't always talk to her, just seeing them meander by carelessly was enough to keep her entertained.
clearly death had never been something to fear, having died twice herself. but death was only part of the reason she'd taken a job in the basement of sleepy hollow general. on occasion, there were bodies who came through the doors who had stories to tell...stories that could not be discovered through the coroner's exact police work. it was those situations where sydney proved to be the most help. she was able to talk with the spirits, listening to their suffering or plight. generally, she was able to avenge their deaths by passing the info onto the proper authorities. that, in her opinion, was pretty darn cool.
sydney mostly worked the nightshift. she liked to claim because it was the time when the spirits were most active but the obvious reason was that no one else was willing to pick it up. working until 6am usually, her days were meant for sleeping to refuel for the very next evening. today, however she'd found herself struggling with her insomnia and after flopping around in her bed most of the morning, she decided to get up and try to be productive...not that she really had anything on her docket.
the wiccan wandered around town, hands shoved casually in her pockets as she admired the cute little store fronts of sleepy hollow. some would have found the small village boring but she loved the old world charm and close-knit community. what she wasn't loving was all those terrifying rumors of the horseman lately. she figured it only be a matter of time before someone missing a head ended up in her place of work.
pushing the negativity from her mind, she rounded the corner and glanced up at the coffee shop. she was typically one for coffee, even working so late, but decided her today she needed the kick. she was stuck between being awake and being asleep, so she might as well choose not to be a zombie. in a matter of moments, she pushed her way in, ordered something with a name she could barely pronounce and found a seat.
as much as she loved to watch ghosts, syd too loved to watch people. she didn't need to sit on her phone and screw around on social media like most people; she was content watching the crowd. gaze fell a young woman, who couldn't have been much different in age than herself. a chuckle escaped her lips as she looked up at the lingering spirit near-by, finally calling out to her. "you're sitting in dale's chair, you know." she stated with amusement, sounding crazy as all hell. "oh wait...he says its okay. normally he'd be mad but he says he'd gladly give up his chair for a pretty lady."
syd took a sip of her coffee, the distaste for the bitter flavor wearing on her features. in a moment, she realized she must have sounded like she was an escapee from the psych ward. "oh shit, an explanation. dale's a ghost. he's kinda racist -calls me a mexican all the time- but he hangs out here. he's not too bad to talk to." yeah, because that didn't sound any crazier.
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24
NOSY
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Post by JANUARY JOULE on Mar 5, 2016 23:00:03 GMT -6
i know that i can surviveJan started just typing whatever came to mind, not exactly related to the column. If everyone knew about all the the supernatural stuff going around, it would be way easier to talk about the goings on. Everything in Sleepy Hallow was saturated with secrets mortals aren't supposed to know. Demons and vampires and wiccans, oh my. Jan herself wasn't supposed to be in the know how of it all either, but because of her best friend from childhood, she'd been granted the inside scoop... off the record, of course. She had to be hush hush, something she'd never been good at except for this one thing, about the whole wiccan thing. And she'd done a hell of a job, too.
Furiously she pounded on the keyboard, discussing celebrity relationships to the time she saw Neal Patrick Harris in a hipster bar, having just had a fight with his husband. She rambled on how it had been a weird thing, seeing him all, well, not cheerful. Yes, he was immeasurably charming and yes, he was just about the most handsome man on the planet, but it was all a little off putting. He was such a beautiful man, though, and clearly he loved his husband daughter and son more than anything else in the world. The two lovely blondes had a few bears with each other and talked it out with Neal smiling and Jan feeling completely numb with excitement over what happened. A few weeks later, Jan got to be an extra on How I Met Your Mother. All in all, it was a pretty bad ass experience.
The little mortal let out a frustrated sigh of frustration, slamming her finger on the backspace button on her useless story. She was not really feeling in the writing mood, having some serious writers block going on. Then again, could she even really claim writers block if this was a new job and she didn't even feel like a real writer yet? Seriously, if she hadn't had a deadline, she would have just quit and screamed into her pillow for the next eight years. It really wasn't that she disliked her home here in Sleepy Hallow, or found it boring in any way. On the contrary, Sleepy Hallow had always been fascinating with it's dirty little secrets hiding everywhere. The problem was, of course, that there was only so much she could actually talk about. And right now she felt like there was nothing but dullness in the mortal aspect of thing. And this was coming from a nearly devout optimist.
The voice caught her attention, and her head snapped up, eyebrows creased in confusion. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the young woman. She was a bit wierded out at first, to be honest, but without missing a beat she spread a big, wide smile on her face and said, "Well, tell him I said thank you. He really does have the comfiest seat in the house." Being trained to spot lies, Jan had also learned how to deliver them with amazing accuracy. She was aware of just how crazy and random the conversation was, and the proximity of the psych ward was not something that escaped her awareness, but she still politely smiled at the woman. With the Ekman Group, she'd worked with all sorts of people, the crazy ones, the innocent ones, the pathological liars. She didn't mind any of them, not really, as they were all intensely fascinating in their own way.
At the woman's explanation, despite the improbability of it in normal situations, January relaxed. She was so used to the ghosts and goblins of her home, the woman telling her she could see the dead was not so far outside the realm of possibility. Her shoulders slouched in relief and she nodded. "Oh, okay." She said, and then kicked the chair out in front of her. "You can sit with me if you've got time." She closed her laptop and now her warm smile was really genuine. "You know, you shouldn't take the whole racist thing. I mean, I don't care when he came from, it's still rude." She crossed her arms. "What is he, like this old rich white guy? Or ..." She wiggled her eyebrows at the woman in a conspiring way, "Is he cute?" Because that's how easy it was for her to adjust to a situation. She'd been dealing with weird her whole life. Just because she was mortal didn't mean she wasn't hip with the supernaturals. Jan extended her hand over the table to shake, "My name's Jan, by the way."
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Post by SYDNEY ROSEN on Mar 9, 2016 22:14:56 GMT -6
let your troubles roll by So many cities and windows and lives and through each one there's a soul that strives to survive. So pay no mind, my sorrow's fine. The day is alive and that's why I cry. if there was anything talking to ghosts had helped her with, it was talking to people. after all, how could the living be that much more terrifying than the bloody and mangled transparent bodies she saw wandering around? mind you, they didn't all look like that but some did. at first it rattled her but after some time, she'd become desensitized to the images. working it the morgue had gotten her over that real quick too. sure, people tended to hold their judgments and cast people aside when they weren't of use, but that didn't stop her from being as friendly as she possibly could be. sometimes it was nice having someone who actually answered, unlike some of the spirit who were silent. she never had to go out of her way to make friends, simply because being friendly and a halfway decent person just came natural to sydney. too bad the same couldn't be said for every human being.
sydney was no stranger to the secrets of the town. being a wiccan herself, she was obviously privy to the many supernatural beings that roamed the town coexisting with the mortal counterparts. but that wasn't all. it was her role as a medium which allowed her some insight into the dirty little secret of the world. she knew who killed who, who was what, and what they were up to...all because of the handful of talkative ghosts who chose to confide in her. she appreciated it, serving as her own monster version of the gossip column.
it was the oddness of the woman which either made or broke her ability to have friendships in the town. some people found her constantly changing hair color and boisterous attitude completely obnoxious. throw in the whole 'i see dead people' routine and they beelined the other direction, away from syd. on the opposite side of that, there were those who were completely compelled by the tales she spoke of, whether or not they truly believed her. frankly, she didn't care either way. she wasn't going to change who she was to impress someone.
the wiccan snorted lightly at the blonde's comment. "oh he hates it here. probably wishes he would have laid off the donuts and died from something other than a heart attack waiting in line." morbid? maybe a little, but she couldn't deny the truth, even as she watched the ghostly figure flip her the bird. syd had the sneaking suspicion the woman opposite her was just being polite and frankly, she didn't have any problem with that. on more than one occasion she'd been told to fuck off because of her random statements...people who were too nice to be rude were her favorite. and really, what the wiccan was saying had no bearing anyway; it wasn't like she was going to move just because a ghost was grumpy about it. that was one of sydney's problems, forgetting they weren't real people. sometimes it would have been better for her not to voice the private conversations she had with the dead.
somewhat surprised at the offer, her shoulders rolled into a shrug. after a moment, she got up from her own seat and found the new one across from the blonde woman. "you sure? looks like you've got something important going on." she nodded toward the laptop between them. "mmm, well, some people are hard to change, especially when they're dead. suppose its a good thing i'm not really mexican." she teased with a light grin, nearly spitting out the sip of coffee she'd taken at the woman's question. "oh god no. no, no, not at all." she glanced over at dale, who eventually grew angry with the situation and walked off. she had to give it to the spirit - he definitely was one of the more active and conscious ones. "i mean, unless you find a sixty-ish 200 pound balding man attractive, then yeah i suppose. and hey, no judgement if you do." obviously the lat part was a joke, though in part, it had been true too...syd never judged other people.
she returned the handshake as it was offered to her, smiling warmly with the greeting. "syd. so jan, what am i interrupting you from?" she questioned, bringing the topic of her laptop back around. it was small talk, sure, but in general, she just enjoyed learning about the lives of others.
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24
NOSY
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Post by JANUARY JOULE on Mar 14, 2016 19:27:14 GMT -6
i know that i can surviveBy the time Jan had finished her word vomit onto the many pages before her, she was thoroughly frustrated. Not a single work she'd typed was even remotely usable, even though quite a bit of the content was actually amusing and adorably witty in certain areas. Instead of her writing alleviating her blockage, she just managed to piss herself off when she contemplated her return to Sleepy Hollow. It wasn't a bad place, not really, but California had at least been really exciting, especially with her employment at the Eckman group. With just a twitch of a muscle she could tell if someone was lying, a training that was still with her. But as much as she loved gossip and whatnot, she was a little bothered by the fact that instead of at least doing some good in the world, she was sittig at her laptop spreading useless gossip. What was most obnoxious about it was the fact that everyone in Sleepy Hollow, or close to everyone, knew about it's supernatural stuff but weren't willing to be open about it. So what the hell was there even to report.
The lady intervening on her lack of concentration was a relief, really. Jan took hold of the conversation like a lifeline, not even phased by how crazy it seemed since she was so desperate and also because she was so used to the freaky crap that Sleepy Hollow produced. She smiled and shrugged, "Well, I appreciate it all the same.... If we're being honest, I probably wouldn't have moved anyway. I hate to be rude, but I mean, he doesn't really need a chair, does he?" She grinned mischievously, not afraid to make a little quip at the dead even though she should have known better than to antagonize the powers that be or whatever. When the woman mentioned her laptop after popping over to the offered seat, Jan rolled her eyes." Not even," she grumbled, and pushed her laptop to the side of the small table. Her expression morphed into a smile as she laughed and nodded, "Yeah, well, I guess that would help some."
Funny how the company one kept could change someone's entire day around. Instantly, Jan's mood went from sour and stormy clouds to bright skies and smiles. She liked Syd, the woman who sat across from her, and had spotted no signs of malice from the movements of her face. The lady, to her, seemed genuine, at least enough to make a nice friend out of. And since she'd been gone from Sleepy Hollow for so long, making a friend was exactly what Jan really needed. Of course she had Tetra, her best friend and partner in crime, but because Jan was naturally such a social butterfly, she really needed to stretch out her wings and mingle with the people around here. Sometimes it was a little difficult, because when she'd approach someone she'd see a flash of annoyance on their face. Normally, that wouldn't have bothered Jan, but it stung a little bit that she was forgotten so soon after leaving the place she'd grown up in. People used to recognize her and greet her with a big, warm smile everywhere she went. Now... well, not so much.
That was part of the reason Syd was so refreshing to the blonde's senses, and, let's face it, to her ego as well. She'd been afraid maybe there was something about her that just wasn't approachable anymore, so having a conversation with Syd so easily was a good reminder to Jan that she could still just be as charming as she ever had been. She tried to ignore the little voice in her mind that if Syd was a medium, she probably talked to all sorts of freakazoids, and so having a conversation with an easily appeased blonde probably wasn't all that much of a strain. Think positive, she tried to tell herself, trying to keep the feeling of the nice stroke to her ego she'd just previously experienced. And she did, think positive, that is. It was pretty easy around this girl, as Syd already had Jan laughing at her words. Jan shook her head with a big 'ol grin on her face, 'No, doesn't really sound like my type."
Though her expression soured at Syd's question, her mood didn't. She gave her laptop a dirty look and then heaved a dramatic side. "Oh, nothing," she explained to the other female, "Just work. Got a gig as the new gossip columnist down at the local paper. It's a cool gig, but there's nothing I can write about that's interesting in Sleepy Hollow that won't get me fired. I mean," Jan shook her head in frustration, not realizing she was rambling, "it's not like there isn't cool stuff here. I mean hellooo," she motioned to Syd as if the other woman was proof in of herself that there were cool things in Sleepy Hollow... which was accurate. "But if I write about stuff like the woman who see's ghosts in the coffee shop or, say, the adorable vampire next door, they're going to haul my ass up to the psych ward down the street, even though everyone here is basically in the know how anyway. Public press and all that. Such crap, really." She crossed her arms to show her displeasure and pouted for about half a second before curiously tilting her head at Syd. 'What about you? What do you do?"
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Post by SYDNEY ROSEN on Mar 16, 2016 21:06:53 GMT -6
let your troubles roll by So many cities and windows and lives and through each one there's a soul that strives to survive. So pay no mind, my sorrow's fine. The day is alive and that's why I cry. sydney loved living in sleepy hollow, what with it's small town atmosphere and all. little did she know, upon first conversing with jan, that she worked for the sleepy hollow newspaper. the wiccan wasn't connected to the social media world and technology like most others in the world. while she had a phone, she had no internet plan on it and instead, resorted to the things the world told her. between ghosts and the gossip she discussed with her boss, that was her version of a newsfeed. she liked to read the newspaper and always made sure to have one delivered to her apartment door, ready to read as she drank her cup of coffee at four in in the afternoon before heading off to work.
while she wouldn't openly deny what she was, which would have been hard to do anyway, sydney didn't go out of her way to admit it either. she'd gotten used to the idea of people disbelieving her abilities and she was okay with that. some people were just never going to be open minded enough to accept them. she did, however, find it easier when people knew about the 'others' in the world. whether or not jan did, she wasn't sure. regardless, she was happy to share the simple conversation.
a light laugh escaped her lips at the mention of the spirit once more. "no, he doesn't. i mean, he thinks he does but he's an entitled old man. a dead one, might i add. they more or less just float there, anyway." her tone was light and joking but her words were truthful. most of the spirits were residual, unaware the world of the living existed around them. funny how that worked, considering most of the living were that way to the dead.
more than some, sydney was one who went out of her way to make friends. she offered little quips interjected in regular conversation. if they stuck, things like this tended to transpire. if not, she didn't get offended by it. there were too many rude people in this town, let alone the world, for her to get worked up over their ignorant personalities or hurtful comments. she was going to do whatever she wanted anyway, so there was no point in in letting people get her down. "whew, glad to hear that." she teased. as she sipped her drink, syd studied the expression of the woman.
she was surprised to see the falter but realized it must have been related to writer's block or something of the sort. while she didn't have that problem in her own profession, she recalled the issue from many nights in trade school where she had papers to write with nothing to write them on. "oh, sweet! i read the paper everyday. the column was blank for a while, ever since they fired the old quack but nice to know someone will be filling in again. i'll keep an eye out for your work." sydney was genuinely curious to see what jan had to write about, mostly because the romance column had been taking over lately and it was seriously bumming her out.
as jan went on about the happenings of sleepy hollow, syd could only grin further, recognizing that mischievous twinkle in her eye. "i dunno, jan, i think you'd be a big hit if you started writing about the heebie-jeebie shit 'round here. you'd be surprised how many people you work for that are basically unicorns or some shit." she couldn't say for sure but the town seemed to be a hub for supernatural activity; there was bound to be someone working at the newspaper who wasn't normal. "by the way, my neighbor is a cute vampire." she winked with a laugh. "i mean, i'd back up your stories if anyone tried to throw you in the looney bin...though i talk to ghosts so i dunno how much credit i'd have." even though her demeanor was joking, syd couldn't deny the gossip or interest that wuold generate around the column if jan started working with the real stories of sleepy hollow. then again, she understood the need to keep a job.
"oh, i work at the morgue as an assistant. interning so i can eventually become a coroner." she stated matter-of-factly, as if it were a no brainer for someone like her. "i like it, though it's real dead there at night, if you know what i mean." syd and her terrible puns.
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