⌠ BRANDON PEREA, 22, CISMALE, HE/HIM ⌡ welcome to gallagher academy, MATTHEW CASTIGADOR! originally hailing from DAVAO, PHILIPPINES, they were exposed too much during the protest, and the academy is now in charge of their safe care. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of ( square frame glasses, ruffled jet back hair, knee ripped jeans, camera sling on his shoulders, bitten cap pen, worn white converse ). when it’s the libra’s birthday on 9/23/1996, on the bad nights they request their DRIED FISH WITH SALTED EGG from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re safe in witness protection. @gallagherintro
Bish I’ve been more prepared to bring him back than Kaia to be honest lmaaaoo love me
JOHN MATTHEW CASTIGADOR was born and raised in Davao CIty, Philippines to a single mother, the only father figures he knew was his stepfather father who left his mother for another woman. He is a Kuya ( older brother ) of female twins Julienne and Georgina ( currently 15 and in Grade 9 ). His lola (grandmother ) also lives with them. He haven’t met his biological father…yet.
With his mother raising two kids on her own, she was barely home as she worked as a server at one of the biggest restaurant in Philippines and during her day offs, she would work as free-lance beautician meaning she will do home service if someone wants to get their nails or hair done. Because of that, he learned to become the father figure of her two sister at the early age, making sure they eat breakfast, prepares their baon ( lunch pack or snacks ) to school and even take them and fetch them from school.
Matt was never bitter about the situation. He likes taking care of them and he loves making it easier for his mother. He might not be blessed with the brightest brain but he works and studies hard and doing extra credit whenever he can so he can be with the honor roll thinking that the only way to get was to get good grades so he could get into any university he wanted that he hopes someday would get make their lives a little better.
High school graduation rolled in when he was sixteen, it was all sweet and glorious since he knew he would be able to continue studying in college until his father appeared on their doorstep during his high school graduation celebration.
Heal wounds cut open again. The family was shookt if you will. No one had really talked about Matt’s father before, he even assumed he was dead. He never really explained why he was gone for a very long time but hey he is already there, right?
Long story short because again, I don’t want to be attached but yes, his father try to make amends and really wanna make up for the lost time he had with his son. He offers to support his college education. That was sweet but with one condition and that is to move to the states, live with him ( sort of ). Of course, Matt had to bargain, he couldn’t be forced to study abroad without condition. He made a deal with his father and then he temporarily moved to USA.
BEFORE THE BOMB…
After getting over his homesickness he was doing great. He had to take few more classes to be qualified to go to be accepted to the university ( bc Matt ain’t a K-12 bb ) but it was going great. If he didn’t swallow his pride and just work on the scholarship he got, he would not be able to study with the course he wanted and would still have to take a job. Currently, he was on his third year taking up Forensic Psychology as a major.
Despite his father promising to support his family in the Philippines, he still work part-time just to send some cash to his mom and siblings because that’s what Filipinos do okay. He tries to squeeze in his barista and tutoring job in between classes in the university and his role as a writer in the school news paper, he was also part of a few clubs, including Amnesty International
MORE FACTS….
Matt is like Peter Parker rolled in Clark Kent rolled in Timothy Drake…sort of. He is a detective wannabe so basically he likes poking his nose where it was not supposed to be.
Bisexual as fuck.
He likes Mountain Dew a lot, he has hyper-acidity issues tbh
He speaks Bisaya, Hiligaynon and a little bit of Ilokano because his mom is from Ilocos. He understands Tagalog but speaks Tagalog in a very heavy Bisaya accent. His English is better tbh. Living in states for 3 years got rid any of his accent except when he is mad bc aren’t we all idk
He is a very good cook. Give him meat and he’ll whip it into any Filipino dish you want.
He’ll walk your dog for free tbh. He has an dog back home name Petra.
BALLROOM, some time in the middle of the night --- matt looks up and then around. it was hard to imagine that this was the same place as where the new year’s eve and valentines’ day party were held. props to the party organizers. perhaps, it was enough to forget all the things that went down for the past six or seven months of their lives. “ will i be crazy to say that i’m actually going to miss this place? or at least, will always remember it? “ matt says in disbelief to no one in particular. // @gallagherstart
BALLROOM, some time in the middle of the night --- if there was anyone who went through a lot among all of them ( not counting what cassie went through, of course ), it was luce. matt didn’t think he’ll ever forgive himself for not being able to protect luce. “ hey. “ he greets before putting an arm around her. “ you’re enjoying your night, i hope. “ // @lucefrs
BALLROOM, some time in the middle of the night --- “ come on, just one dance. “ he pouts at her while trying to tug her away from her seat. “ it’s our last night here, isn’t it. come on! i say, i’ll return you before your date comes back then i remember, you are not anyone’s property. “ // @harperkent
BALLROOM, some time in the middle of the night --- matt was thankful for the person who gave him a few more shots of alcohol because the one that was handed out in the event was not enough to give him courage to approach ella. seeing her without his date somehow boosts the certainty that it was okay to approach, his feet are already moving before he can even think about it. he clears his throat to get her attention. “ you look lovely. “ // @itsellataylor
BALLROOM, some time in the middle of the night --- “ you know, your date shouldn’t leave you alone like this. “ he says then clicking his tongue, feigning disappointment before dropping the facade and laughs. “ how’s your night, so far, al? “ // @bcketts
Ever since the events of the previous day, Calypso hadn’t quite known what to do with herself. She had messaged all her friends, checked in on everyone, but she was still jittery and very on edge from the initial FEAR that had settled into her at the blaring sound coming over the speakers.
Now, she’s perched on a chair in the corner of the library, checking her emails and texts on her phone for what feels like the hundredth time this morning ( and it’s only 9:49am, she notes absentmindedly ), trying to pretend her hands aren’t shaking as she studies for her first encryption final of the year, happening this afternoon. She glances up as a figure comes into her field of vision. “Hey – do you know what happened yesterday?”
matt used to think that spies are all spines, no fear on their bones. but matt had seen a lot of things within half the year he has been in gallagher. the idea of losing lives was there but matt did not exactly think about the emotional repercussions. “ i don’t know. “ he says with a little guilt weighed on his chest for thinking there’s no room for emotions in the world of espionage.
he sits beside her and sighs. “ there’s fire and horses are running everywhere. that ‘s all i know. “ he remembered throwing flour everywhere in the kitchen and running back to their dorm. he remembered not knowing anything except for the alarm going off and wanting to check on his friend. “ are you okay? “
“ LOOK WHO I FOUND BY THE LAKE. “ with the horses’s reins in his hands, hudson is slowly leading them back towards campus, where the other horses are being kept while the stables are… well, incapacitated. “ go ahead, make your cowboy jokes, i know you have one. “ // @gallagherstart
“ i have lots but i’m pretty sure you heard all of them already. “ matt teases then he thinks about giving its back a stroke for comfort then he remembers, this is not like one of the goats or cows his uncle would ask him to take care of for twenty pesos back when he was younger. matt didn’t feel like getting kicked by the horse. they might still be under the stress and he was not sure if that is the best course of action to take. “ maybe, if you will actually give this one a ride, maybe i can think of something more. “
Ella raided the food court. She got a taste of every single station and put it all in a single tray she pretended to take to her bedroom. For her and her only. She needed to stay in her room for the rest of the day and the next one to figure out one of her finals, and she needed no excuses or distractions. Not even hunger. “Excuse me– Watch out!” She asked as she navigated the hallway back to her room. “Sorry– fuck… Hey– can you please grab that apple before it rolls out of my tray?” She asked before realizing who she was talking to. “Oh– hi, Matt.” Talk about embarrassing herself. || @mattcastigador
" wa---oof. " the warning came in too late, not even able finish it but the lessons he is getting from gallagher had came in handy as he takes a step back out of reflex and avoided having the entire tray of food flying everywhere. matt managed to hold the other end of the tray to keep things from rolling out of it. “ hey, ella. don’t worry, i got it. “ mat starts rearranging the food on the tray then he playfully perks an eyebrow at her direction. “ all of this just for you? are you planning to be a cavewoman or something? “
“what do you think it is —- boy or girl?” they’re not going to enforce anything on their kid regardless, but atty figured it’d give both him and marlowe to focus on and think about instead of the fact that they’re not home, yet. “i’ve heard that like, you can find out in some weird chromosome tests. the thought of it freaks me out.”
“ you know, despite the stress this school is causing her, she still has that glow. “ what didn’t really know how to exactly explain it but back home, people would call say she is ‘blooming’. “ and when a woman has that glow, it’s a girl. so, maybe, it’s a girl. some old folks back home said you can also tell by the shape of the belly.” matt smiles at him encouragingly then gives him a gentle pat on his shoulder. “ man, you’ll do better than before. you and marlowe got this. “
at the sound of the other’s voice, raina looks up from her textbook. raina gives him a look that’s similar to a mother chiding her toddler. “matt, please. we’ve talked about this before,” she tells him, clicking his tongue. “you’ve got to stop doing stuff like that! come here, let me look at it,” she tells him, waving him to come closer.
" hey, it not like i ask for this. " he pouts a little bit before moving closer to her. the way he was tumbling around, the way he is taking the training way too seriously than the others is basically asking for it. " it's just a scrape. don't worry. you've tended worse wounds. " he smiles as he shows her his wounds.
Noah barely noticed her surroundings when she was busy focusing on her coding, which was a very good thing. She didn’t even noticed Matt closing his laptop shut until he spoke to her. “Oh, no worries! I was too deep in thought to notice.” She smiled before looking at the restricted section. “Yeah, I’m too curious not to have been till now. Want to check it out?”
" finals, am i right? " he heaves a sigh as mattremembers about his own academic endeavours which had been way to lackluster after discovering gallagher's true colors. " are you sure? " as much as he wants to indulge his curiosity with information, he is concerned about the other. " you wouldn't get expelled if we're caught? "
– WHEN ALLIE SHUTS THE OVEN SHE CAN’T STIFLE HER YAWN ANY LONGER, covering her mouth before she greens sheepishly over at matt. “ what ? no, i’m not tired ! ” she protests, despite obvious evidence to the contrary. “ besides, i gotta make sure the last batch came out alright, and i’m not leaving you to clean up alone, pass me that –” she requests, pointing to the dirty spoon on the counter and turning on the sink. “ don’t argue, i…i’m not leaving you out here alone. ” not after what happened with luce.
matt tilts his head, eyebrow playfully raises as if telling her he doesn't believe. though he isn't the one to talk. it was only a matter of time before he starts yawning too. he takes the spoon, the mixing bowls and pretty much the rest of the things that they used to bake and drop them on the sink as he moves besides her. matt sighs. allie doesn't have to say it, she knows what she is implying. " tell me, do you still believe everyone is completely safe right now? "
SAKAMOTO FLOOR KITCHEN, 01:05PM --- And the final batch finally went to into the oven. Matt had lost track of how long they had been baking. He mumbled a Filipino curse almost incoherently as he looked at the time. “ What time did we even start? It’s past one already. “ He chuckled, shaking her head before taking off his glasses and places it down the counter. “ Hey, Al? If you want to sleep, you can already. I’ll take care of this. “ [ @bcketts ]
SAKAMOTO FLOOR RM. 508, 4:10PM --- “ So, I may have underestimated how much of a physical work these spy in training are doing. “ He admits as he plops down in the middle of the room. Matt had asked someone to train him with more than just self-defense. He was just realizing maybe there was a reason why they are only training in self-defense and he is learning it the hard way. “ It will take a lot to motivate me to get out of this floor, to be honest. “ [ @hudsonisms ]
LIBRARY, 03:10PM --- Matt abruptly closed his laptop. Sitting near the restricted section of the library was distracting him from him lessons. “ Sorry...” he mumbles as he looks at his companion who was probably coding away and his somehow violent way of closing his laptop had possibly disrupt her from train of thought. “ I mean, I’m curious, have you been there?” He says, pointing at the restricted part of the library with his lips. “ [ @noahwxrd ]
