* THERE’S NO way to spin their story for crew to not be the bad guy . kira , for the duration of their relationship , before , and after , had essentially done everything right , and it was crew who took that for granted when he ended their romance without a second thought . at the time , he had slated it up as just a time in his life when he wasn’t ready to be in a relationship , but in hindsight , he knows it was the fear of disappointing her with his supreme irresponsibility — to an extent , he didn’t trust himself to be the type of person who deserved someone as kind and gentle - hearted as kira , and committed to this self - fulfilling prophecy by ending things without a valid explanation . suffice to say , he regrets it , but can’t figure out how to possibly begin to express his remorse . so when he spots his ex in a time where he would usually turn on his heel and BOLT , he figures it’s the least she deserves when he instead plasters on a confident face and approaches her . “ your shoelace is untied , ” he offers lamely , pointing to the offending lace as he then motions to his own shoes with a weak smile . “ kinda why i always’ve preferred slip - ons , the bastards stay on easier anyways . ”
*! giselle rubs at her eyes, careful to avoid messing with her makeup. she had been staring at the screen of her laptop for hours, clicking away her editing software until she achieved her VISION . anyone who witnessed her creative process probably thought she was psychotic - truthfully, that assumption wasn’t too far off. she was a perfectionist through and through, often driving herself to her wits end for her art. she jumps when there’s a knock at the door, swiftly moving out of the way when he barges in after she opens it. “sure … come on in,” she mutters under her breath before plopping down next to him. “you MIGHT be onto something … but there’s two conditions.” she holds up two fingers, a grin playing on her lips. “number one. you buy me donuts - a dozen - don’t be fuckin’ cheap.” her tone is dead-pan but her grin only gets larger as she speaks. “number two. you take me to the vma’s with you because i NEED to meet megan thee stallion and become her best friend.” the laptop ( now outside of her reach ) catches her attention and a giselle feels a tinge of anxiety. crew’s pitch sounds like the perfect escape and her attention snaps back to him when he speaks again. “aw … i swear my ego would be shit if i didn’t have you here to gas me up.” she swats his hand away, the blush on her face obvious. whenever ANYONE complimented giselle, heat would spread to her cheeks. years of insults thrown at her by her parents made receiving compliments difficult. “i’m just flattered that you even TRUST my driving. fuck around and i’ll give us both whiplash.” her eyes glaze over him, giving him an obvious once-over. “is that what you’re wearing?” she crawls off of the bed, heading to her closet. “what should i wear?”
HE GLEAMS brightly at the femme , mind racing with concepts now that his idea has been taken in stride . though holloway isn’t exactly known for its diverse thinkers , crew is grateful to have found a small pocket of fellow creatives that can not only handle his energy , but match it , or in giselle’s case , tame it . he watches her hold up her fingers as if he’s enchanted by the movement , holding his arms up to surrender to her whims . “ pero hermosa , you act as if i haven’t been planning to SPOIL you to a box this whole time , ” he grins , waggling a playful brow in her direction , and it’s true . if there’s anyone deserving of crew taking the extra mile , it’d undoubtedly be giselle . “ ah megan , you’re ripe for choice and yet i knew you’d go with an immaculate option nonetheless . but , don’t act as if you haven’t been my obvious future plus one since the start . ” their tone is mutually playful , but crew’s words always ring with a touch of truth : as much as he adores those in his circle , if anyone were to be considered his creative other half , he’d claim it to be giselle . without the bias of his unyielding affection for her , she’s truly only been a POSITIVE influence to his craft since the moment they’ve met — for every unhinged concept he flings her way , she returns with a calculated improvement , refining his material to a quality he would have never known how to reach on his own . he flourishes around her , and she tames him — perhaps one of the only people in his life with such a gift . “ i live to please the lady , ” he sing - songs , taking an exaggerated bow before he lets out a laugh at the idea of her driving , quite obviously the lesser of two evils between them . “ i tried to dress so i could move but i wouldn’t be cold , but you can wear whatever your flashy lil’ heart desires ‘cause whatever you pick will inevitably be just ... ” he lays a loud smacking kiss to his bunched fingers , throwing them to the air in a chef’s kiss as if to emphasize his point , and it’s true . he’s seen giselle transform herself into countless versions of herself for their photoshoots ( and somehow , finds himself undeniably ENAMORED with each of them . )
* IT’S NOT the time , and it’s not the place , crew knows this , but he can’t help the way his heart tells him to come when his mind tells him to go . he tries to only smoke outside the dorm as to not hotbox his roommate , taking up a specific corner along the main path out of sight of campus security but still close enough to the building to make it in should something SPOOK him . that’s why spotting his ex passing by on the road in the dead of night tugs at something within the male , never one able to hold his tongue for the better , or for worse . “ it’s not safe to be walking alone at night , benício . ” the name rolls off his tongue with a bitterness left in its wake ; he’s unwilling to call him by his nickname when there’s no tenderness left between the two . “ that polaroid psycho , it’s just not . ” he shakes his head , ashing his joint into the water bottle he totes in his other hand . he knows he has no right to harangue the other , benny can do whatever the FUCK he wants , but to an extent , crew can’t help but feel he has an obligation to keep him in one piece . “ thought you’d be smart enough to know that , big guy . what , you tryna fuckin’ taunt the cat ? another adrenaline junkie hit for you ? ”
* IT’S A bad habit of crew’s to show up unannounced , the clear result of his self - centric mindset that tends to ignore the idea that people have actual lives outside of just hanging out with him . that’s why it’s something out of the ordinary he does for giselle , actually planning his times to hang out with her , although it looks more like him telling her a time to show up and a time he’ll head back home , with no context outside of that . he can’t help but think it keeps him interesting , but better yet , makes sure he has the creative freedom to go with whatever WHIMS the day may bring . “ imagine . ” he barely lets her open the door for him before he’s already spewing his thoughts , hands gesturing animatedly alongside his words . “ your ass , my ass , the old ass vintage donut shop downtown . ” he plops himself down on her bed , motioning between the two of them as he continues on with his ramblings of his vision . “ at night , in front of the neon sign . i will dance for you . you will pose for me . someone gets invited to the vma’s , someone gets invited to shoot for vogue italia . ” he shrugs , a grin taking to his face as he’s clearly proud of the plan he’s concocted for their evening , before he adds the inevitable caveat . “ but that only happens if you drive because i just got really , really high before i came over and i will not risk losing precious cargo with my shit ass driving , ” he teases , reaching over to playfully pinch at giselle’s cheek . there’s a sliver of truth to this ( besides the fact that he’s already a half hour into his edible ) , his admiration of the female and the pedastal he puts her on , but of course , that part he keeps to HIMSELF .
* IT’S NOT difficult to get crew riled up , as just about anyone would be able to attest to . it’s even easier for dylan to do so , especially when armed with the intellect to question crew’s statements and opinions as she does . he can’t even remember how the conversation starts , or if they’re even arguing against each other , but what he does know is he may just burst if he doesn’t give his unsolicited opinion . “ if tarantino can cut the auto - fellation and stop self - inserting into his films , i’d finally have a fucking reason to not shit on pulp fiction every time someone wants to hype it up . ” he flails his hand madly in the sky as if to punctuate his frustrations with the director who , in his not - so - humble opinion , is OBSCENELY over - hyped . “ the man has no fucking self control and it shows . his shit would read so much cleaner if someone just called him out for being gross and making everything his wet fever dreams . ” he pretends to gag , pointing a finger towards his open mouth dramatically . “ anyone can write a male fantasy and call it art ! it ain’t fuckin’ HARD , yo , and everybody that defends his shit gets beet red in the face when anyone mentions how obvious it is that the douchebag fuckin’ hates women . you ain’t subtle , bro , like c’mon , i’m hurting for you , please ... ”
* CREW IS a particularly picky individual with very selective tastes , something many would argue is a main pillar of his personality . though he doesn’t hate much , he can list a few things he severely dislikes surrounding him at this moment : being a west coast weather fiend getting used to maine temperatures again ; the 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 selection of teas at the student cafe leading him to exclusively drink matcha ; and the creative block he’ll face on occasion when forced to work on projects he’s not fond of . something he’ll never cease to sing praises of ? the talent found at holloway that sparks his creativity left and right , PARTICULARLY in the form of fond friend kaia burke . he plays back a quick sample of a few seconds on the speakers hooked up to his laptop , letting out a groan of euphoria as he hits pause . “ kai i cannot emphasize enough the severity with which i 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐞 with this fucking track man , i just — ” he dramatically blows a chef’s kiss into the air as if to emphasize his point . “ i think if you can power through and we sample enough of those glorious vocals of yours , mama , i can lay them over each other for some background harmonies on that SICK outro we were playing around with . ” he takes a sip from his mug before looking over at the female perched up at his mic stand , his makeshift rig making due within the confines of his dorm room . “ what do i gotta do to keep you here laying this shit down with me for the rest of the afternoon ? ‘cause if you got plans i might just have to use my powers of manipulation to convince you to 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥 them , ” he teases , bright eyes shooting her a hopeful grin .
CREW: imagine thinking i would even REMOTELY perceive this as anything but the highest of compliments 🤧🤧
CREW: niño hermoso your white ass mom doesn’t know how to tell you how hansome you are with her own words
CREW: so she’s gotta compare you to your papi , my beautiful son 😤🙌
･ﾟ ☾ round two of intros and none the less messy ! crew’s a new muse so his intro will likely be shorter than ripleys but who knows i love me a lil dancing hypebeast so maybe i’ll ramble on . disc / ord is @𝐤𝐲𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 !#6439 since i’ll be mobile for the afternoon !
💀 * [ brandon arreaga + cis male + he / him ] —— have you met galamiel ‘ crew ‘ rivera ? they are a twenty - one year old junior currently studying music production & visual arts. they live on keating house, and word around campus is that this gemini is fervent + jocular, as well as imprudent + mercurial. i wonder if they’ll make it out alive. light shows in your messy dorm , feet that never cease moving , feeling the rumble of a pounding baseline in your chest . [ ooc: teddy. ]
EDIT : wanted and current connections can be found here !
galamiel alejandro luis santocruz rivera ( the family had a ton of people they needed to honor in the naming system ) is born smack dab in the middle of a huge family of seven siblings . his dad works construction and his mom is the sweet woman who mans the butcher counter at the local grocery store that is in the heart of their tiny new mexico suburb .
children of immigrants , his older siblings tend to jump into working straight after graduating , with his brothers taking on the family construction business and his sister working as a secretary for a local school . nobody really dreams of leaving their town except for one bright eyed baby boy , who points out an airplane that flies overhead every time he spots one
nicknames come and go until ‘santocruz’ becomes the family moniker , eventually shortening to just crew when the white kids at school inevitably butcher it .
good natured and curious , he’s less complacent than his siblings were but more willing to take risks , asking questions and pulling things apart in order to put them back together . his middle school teachers tell his parents that he shows great promise for a future in engineering , given his smarts and curiosity at such a young age .
his father takes it even harder when crew begins to dress more eccentrically , the sole creative of a family so rooted in their simple way of life . when crew expresses interest in music and stays back after school to join the dance team , it’s a stark difference from the football games and soccer matches his father was so used to cheering at for his other children .
though he never says it outright , crew isn’t oblivious to the rift between himself and his father , the unspoken rejection after crew refuses to work for him one summer in favor of going to los angeles on an internship for a production studio . it hurts like hell , but the support of his mother and his more understanding siblings is enough to keep his head up .
he comes to holloway as more of an escape than anything , a desire to leave the sleepy desert town that suffocated him and truly breathe before his plans to move to LA permanently . he’s the first to go to college in his family , setting the example for his younger siblings , and even if it’s not for engineering like his parents had hoped , his mother still proudly flaunts his school logo everywhere she can .
he’s studying music production with the intention of becoming a producer , posting music to his soundcloud every weekend that he produces from his mini studio set up in his dorm room . he’s double majoring in visual arts bc he’s an artsie bitch and just likes to be able to wax poetic about proportions and negative space and having an opportunity to do so without being called pretentious is invaluable to him .
PERSONALITY : crew is a ball of energy simply trying to make it through each day . he has an eye for art that keeps him centered on seeking out pretty things and new experiences that can inspire his creativity . it’s not unlikely to find him microtripping on a casual tuesday and wanting to go explore a church ‘ for the architecture . ’ he has zero filter and tends to use humor to placate the average situation , passionate about making people feel something whether its through his art or through his presence .
he’s not necessarily outgoing , but is dedicated to his inner circle . romantically , he’s the type to write or perform about every interaction he’s had , leading to rather intense flings that are often shortlived despite the illusion that crew was invested . he doesn’t know how to do things in small doses and tends to burn himself out due to this .
one of his fatal flaws is his tendency to not take the world at face value and act on impulse , following whims without thinking them through and having a reputation for being rather unpredictable and hard to follow .
RANDOM : dresses the way he does bc he thinks fashion is fun and if u cant fw the vision he doesn’t want ur energy near him !
secure in his masculinity and his sexuality , openminded about his attraction to energies rather than simply physical features
every time he ft’s his mom with a new piercing or tattoo she’s like ‘ mijo you can get all the mess you want on your body but dont TOUCH YOUR FACE ’
pretentious and goofy all at once and that’s sort of his brand ?
likes to pretend he’s a photographer but he really doesn’t know what he’s doing . some of his shit do be comin out cool tho !
loves his homies . would genuinely get his friend’s names tattooed on him he said im loyal for LIFE
dances semi-professionally and has been in some music videos for notable rappers / hip hop singers !
