windovvaving

[windovvaving]

she had been dying her hair red for so long, it was second nature at this point. keeping a decent section of the natural brown so they didn't have to feel the dye on their scalp. aileen took a second look at the man beside her. "something different or something new? and, like, what vibe are you going for—professional?" that would influence any advice she'd give.

who: open @chqstarter

Tony tugged on the strands of hair that brushed against his chin. He was due for a haircut and an updated dye job. The pink he’d added in the beginning of the summer had since faded out, the time spent in the pool leeching the color until there wasn’t even a pale hint of it’s former vibrant glory. If his father saw him now, he knew Edgar would roll his eyes. The man seemed to appreciate his son’s self expression, but made it clear that he believed Tony lacked any sense of professionalism. “So,” he began, turning to the person beside him, “I obviously need to do something about this.” He tugged on the strands again for emphasis. “But I don’t know what. Got any suggestions?”

[windovvaving]

montego cringed, "yeah, no, that sounds like a recipe for disaster. literally." he reached out a hand. "i will take a sip just to say i tried it, however." her face scrunch did not leave him with high hopes for whatever concoction the mixologist had whipped up to create the seasonal cocktail. he took a sip. "not my taste, but i'm sure someone'll like it."

open starter ! @chqstarter location: hell & high water

"Seriously, I know it's fall and people love their seasonal drinks and everything, but who thought a pumpkin spice cocktail was gonna taste good?" Ophelia squeaked, face scrunching from the sip she had just taken from her autumnal drink. Pushing it away from her on the counter, she shook her head with disgust. "Do you want to finish this?"

[windovvaving]

the connection between making her dress and a divorce, while a non-sequitur, made sense. at least to montego. "maybe think of it this way, if you make a killer costume by yourself, then it can overwrite all the bad memories of the last time you made your own clothes." when asked what his costume plans where, "i was thinking vampire. cliché, yeah, but it's easy and recognizable. and it's cheap enough to throw together."

"I just haven't done it since I made my own wedding gown. And by the lack of a wedding ring on my finger, I think it's obvious that didn't go well," she explained, holding up her empty left hand. "I've been avoiding designing to avoid thinking about all of that. But I guess if I want something good, I'll have to break out the sewing machine," she said with a sigh, turning to the guy. "What are you thinking of being?"

[windovvaving]

aileen leaned against on of the more stable shelves. they then moved back, not wanting to seem rude. "oh, i came over because i wanted to know what the smell was. but as long as i have your attention, is there anything you'd recommend out of your new arrivals?"

"Tell me about it. It just makes you look bad for making the mess and leaving someone else to cleaning it up." she sighed, glancing up at the other. "is there something you are looking for? I can get it for you when im done here." she offered before cleaning up the last of the mess.

[windovvaving]

aileen had finished their weekly grocery shopping when they saw bianca's cart hit their car. that wasn't good, but instead of focusing on the negative, they said: "it's a junker anyways, one more dent isn't going to hurt." she opened the passenger seat to put the bags down. "i wouldn't say no to lunch as an apology, though. but again, my car's pretty banged up, so it's not a big deal to me."

OPEN STARTER @chqstarter Location: Super Market

To say that Bianca hated grocery shopping was an understatement. There were always too many choices and in general it was too boring for her liking. Which was why she liked to play little games with herself when she could. The most fun to her was shopping cart bowling, and at the end of her trip she tried to get a perfect score by pushing her cart into the return when it gave an unexpected veer to the right hitting a car. "Oh shit!" Bianca said before looking around and finding someone who watched the whole thing. "Listen I'll give you $20 if you don't snitch." She offered before a sudden thought came to mind. "Or I'll buy you lunch if that was your car."

[windovvaving]

as a dj, aileen was always looking for new music. both to listen to, expanding her horizons, or to add to sets, increasing popularity. they headed into sunset sounds, their favorite place to find new music. "no worries," aileen called, perusing the shelves of music on her own. the store smelled different today. wondering what it was, aileen followed the scent's trail to find a worker wiping up a spilled drink. gesturing to it, they said, "people can be so rude."

Open starter: for everyone (@chqstarter) Location: Sunset Sounds

Sophia flipped through the magazine as a customer was roaming the store. She would glance up every now and then to see if they needed help. Soon she heard something drop then a thank you from the customer as they left. Furrowing her brows, she walked over to the spot they last stood only to find a spilled drink. "Really? Couldn't even clean up after yourself." she muttered. She went to the back and grabbed a few cleaning supplies; returning to the spot, she knelt down and began cleaning. Hearing the door, "i'll be right with you!" she called out, wiping up liquid off the floor following.

[windovvaving]

montego hadn't celebrated halloween in years. somehow, he always ended up with the evening shift october thirty-first. why were there always so many people eating at an upscale restaurant on halloween anyways—those two things don't compute in his mind. but this year—this year—he had the night off. so he headed to a thrift store to see if he could slap something together. "well if you still have the skills, then throw in the towel and go for it."

open starter (@chqstarter)

"Ugh, I am having the worst time trying to find my Halloween costume. I went through so many of them at the store and they were all just cheap and tacky. And now I'm trying to find pieces for another idea and there is like nothing here!" Kendra complained, wincing at another dress before moving on to the next rack. "Maybe I need to just admit defeat and make my own. Though I haven't designed or sewn anything in like a year now."

[windovvaving]

montego dalian armas mariscal.

triggers: gifted kid burnout

headcanons / history:

born to boy chains of fortune member alvaro armas mariscal & a groupie after a one night stand, montego spent his formative years on the road. the band broke up before montego even really could form permanent memories, so he really only remembers denver.

not to say he doesn't have memories of touring, they were just all in the summer when school was out. made those "what did you kids do last summer" questions from teachers real interesting.

even without his mother, montego never felt unloved. he had his dad & that was enough for him.

spent his school years coasting through, never really needing to study. his best subject was always math, the equations making straightforward sense.

every teacher said he'd make a good accountant since he was so quick at math.

when montego hit sophmore year of high school, he started struggling. things weren't coming as easily anymore. he had to get tutoring to pass with a grade he was proud of.

his whole life had been about math. it was the one thing he was super good at & now he was mediocre. the same as everyone else.

this led to him trying to find another thing to excel at. he never really found it. it was like that drive that made him good at things had disappeared.

when it comes to what he wanted as a career, montego has tried it all: all of the arts, hockey & baseball, finance, truck driving, podcasting. nothing has really brought him that spark that makes him want to turn it into a career. the closest he ever got was babysitting, but unless he found someone to nanny for fulltime, it's not exactly a paycheck he could live off of.

which is why he still lives with his dad.

montego found a job as a host at an upscale restaurant not too long of a drive from home. it's not much, but it's a paycheck from a place he doesn't hate being at.

he still doesn't know what career he wants, leading to feelings of being left behind as he looks around & sees so many others his age settling into the rest of their lives.

now that school is over, montego is able to leave all the feelings about needing perfection & never finding it behind. he can chill out now that the pressure of a grade is over.

however, that's kind of led to him being a bit too laid-back. as long as nothing's on fire & no one's injured beyond repair, he's just going to let it happen. very laissez-faire.

there is one exception to his laissez-faire attitude: the twins. he loves his little siblings to death!! he never knew how much he would want to be an older brother until esperanza and bastien were born around two years ago. nothing's going to happen to them while he's around.

if presented w/ an open-ended question, he'll waffle around the answer. but if it's a yes or no, he's more likely to give a straight answer.

once he's committed to doing something, it's getting done. this can be both positive (you'll never have to worry about him forgetting your plans) & a negative (he'll make the decision to try a new hobby & even if he hates it, he'll spend all night finishing the project).

wanted connections:

a maternal figure! not necessarily a woman ( or fem-presenting enby ) who took on a motherly role for him in his childhood, but more so a woman who was around every so often so montego latched on.

acquaintances! people who wouldn't call each other friends, but are on a first name basis.

friends! he's been in denver pretty much his whole life, so anyone who came at any point could be his friend. could be from school, work, hanging around town, the neighborhood, etc.

regulars! those who come into the restaurant often enough that they could recognize each other on sight.

romantic interest! i imagine montego & the romantic interest had been pining for a while & they've finally broken the seal & started dating, but am totally up for other ideas if you'd like to ship.

if you’re hearing QUARTER LIFE CRISIS by TAYLOR BICKETT playing, you have to know MONTEGO ARMAS MARISCAL (CISMALE; HE/HIM) is near by! the TWENTY-FOUR year old RESTAURANT HOST has been in denver for, like, PRETTY MUCH HIS WHOLE LIFE. they’re known to be quite RECKLESS, but being RELIABLE seems to balance that out. or maybe it’s the fact that they resemble TYLER ALVAREZ. personally, i’d love to know more about them seeing as how they’ve got those WAFFLE HOUSE AT FOUR AM, LAISSEZ-FAIRE, & NOTEBOOKS FULL OF FAILED IDEAS vibes. and maybe i’ll get my chance if i hang out around the DOWNTOWN DISTRCIT long enough!

[windovvaving]

aileen ashild aodh.

triggers: ableism (towards an autistic individual; from school faculty), sensory overstimulation (mentions of it happening & how to combat it)

history / headcanons:

uses both neutral & feminine pronouns. tries to keep the usage of each about equal, but if someone just picks one & sticks with it, they won't get mad.

super into fixer-upper stuff, which explains why they live in lakeridge & drive a car older than them! the house they live in is going under remodel by her own hands! she plans to turn it into her dream home.

after four years, they’ve only finished two rooms: the main bedroom & the kitchen. this is because they’re trying to only use their own money on the renovations. & she wants it to be perfect, a dream home.

aileen comes from a pretty well-off family, which is how she can afford to live on her own in denver at 24 (parents pay the mortgage). they originate from castle rock, co, which is south of denver but north of the springs.

she grew up playing outside, never masking, & surrounded by family. even if said family was just her parents and older sibling.

their passion for music started young. see, both parents are in the music industry: mom’s an audio engineer & dad’s front man for an indie rock band. originally, aileen wanted to be a singer like their dad.

but they can’t carry a vocal tune to save their life. so they turned towards mixing like their mom.

which is how aileen landed her first dj job! a classmate (in her arts academy days, more on that below) was having a party & was in desperate need of someone to do the music. enter aileen, well-known to have music-inclined parents. she took the few mixing skills she had at that point to make a (pretty shitty) set.

seeing everyone enjoying the music they put together, even if it wasn’t their words or instrumentals, all of those people enjoying something they made unlocked a new passion.

their dj alias is “ASHE” (though this is the only time i’ll stylize it that way to keep an all lowercase aesthetic). it’s a play on their middle name “ashild.” also, phoenix imagery since their last name means “fire.”

won't get upset if you use her stage name instead of her real one in a convo. sometimes people know her better as ashe & who's she to care.

at twenty, after building rapport in castle rock, aileen set out for the big city. denver! why denver? why not los angeles or nashville or any city known for having a club scene? the sibling from bullet four is here! (i mean, not yet, but i plan on putting a wc out).

life hasn’t been all fun & games for aileen, though. it mostly has been, but being so openly autistic had consequences. school faculty brushed her off, rolling eyes at her “disruptiveness” aka stimming.

when it came to school, aileen made a conscious effort to not vocally stim & to keep other stims small (hair twirling, chewelry, leg bouncing, finger tapping, etc) to a minimum, but teachers didn’t work with her. it hurt her to not stim, but the school environment made i so she felt she had to.

not even an iep helped. this issue cumulated in the aodh parents pulling aileen out of public school & enrolling her in a charter arts academy. the faculty at this school were much better at working with aileen & the environment of a bunch of other public school rejects helped her flourish.

wears sound-cancelling headphones all the time to help with sensory overload. this is especially important when aileen's at the 303 since clubs are overstimulating environments.

being the one in control of the music (& the volume) helps combat that. it's why she can be in that environment for hours at a time.

wanted connections:

her older sibling! i’ll be submitting a wc to the main, but if anyone wants to discuss it already, hit me up. this is the only one that would need to be a brand new character.

fellow djs! not necessarily at the 303 or even professionals, but just someone aileen could talk about music & mixing with.

a best friend! someone they met in childhood*, or high school*, or maybe even during their time in denver. the two became fast friends over shared interests. thick as thieves ever since. (*if a childhood or hs best friend, they'd have to be from castle rock since that's where aileen originates from).

a rival! well, rival is a bit inaccurate. more like someone who just doesn't like her & who she doesn't like either. they'll get into word spars, but it doesn't ever really go too far. only a tiny bit of real heat behind hurled insults. could be a professional rival or a personal one or maybe even someone else obsessed w/ renovation who doesn't like aileen maximalist style.

romantic interest! i like cute romance threads, so a datemate (of any gender) for aileen would be awesome.

if you’re hearing THE RECORD PLAYER SONG by DAISY THE GREAT playing, you have to know AILEEN AODH (THEY/SHE; DEMIFEMALE) is near by! the TWENTY-FOUR year old DISK JOCKEY (DJ) AT CLUB 303 has been in denver for, like, FOUR YEARS. they’re known to be quite BOISTEROUS, but being INDOMITABLE seems to balance that out. or maybe it’s the fact that they resemble CHLOÉ HAYDEN. personally, i’d love to know more about them seeing as how they’ve got those THE SPARKLE YOUR EYES GET WHEN EXCITED, STAYING UP LATE LISTENING TO A SONG ON REPEAT, & NEON LIGHTS AT ALL TIMES OF THE DAY vibes. and maybe i’ll get my chance if i hang out around the LAKERIDGE long enough!

*please note that since chloé is autistic, has adhd, & has postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (pots), aileen will have these traits as well!! she is being written by an autistic mun, but one w/o adhd or pots. aileen's portrayal is heavily influenced by my own experiences.

[windovvaving]

who: montego armas marsical with: chance monroe and/or banks rainier ( @chancemonroe / @banksrainicr ) where: farm fest ( urban farm )

montego stared up into the apple tree. "if you fall, i'm going to laugh my ass off." apple picking. this had not been what he had in mind when he had headed to the farm festival. though now that he was here, it was exciting to think back on the simple joys a petting zoo or a pumpkin patch could bring earlier in life.

[windovvaving]

who: aileen aodh with: bonnie beaufort ( @bonniebeaufort ) where: trunk or treat / costume contest ( the green, downtown )

aileen was trying to add some fake blood to their vampire costume before heading on stage for the contest, when the tube spat at them. it landed on her cheek. she turned to the person next to her, "does it at least look semi-intentional? i really don't have the time to redo if it doesn't."

[windovvaving]

"yeah, no pets. i do have a bunch of d.i.y. projects, but i normally give them to friends so they don't end up taking up space." aileen, while not having a huge house, did have one that wasn't what someone might assume only had one resident. "well, what's in your guest room? that might help give me ideas for my own."

“You probably don’t have a million books and a bunch of pets then. My house is huge, so I used most of the extra rooms to give my pets plenty of space and store all the books and my art stuff. I do still have a guest room though,” Kendra admitted. She wanted at least one space friends could stay since she had so many in town. Though when they did come over, she didn’t mind sharing the same bed or even passing out on the couch with them after drinking.

[windovvaving]

he took the plate as he nodded along to what his father was saying. "i felt bad just clocking out. stayed, got some extra pay, figured out exactly why waiting isn't my thing. no harm, no foul." montego began to eat his own breakfast and drink his coffee. as he did so, he smiled at his siblings. "any other plans for later?"

"good for you. i'm sure they appreciated you stepping up." alvaro replies with a nod, grabbing a plate so he can serve his son some food. handing it to him after he plates it up, he turns to check on bastien and esperanza, making sure they're actually eating their breakfast instead of playing with it. "it's alright if it isn't for you. now you know."

[windovvaving]

"there was this one time, just after work. i was leaving the club, getting out my keys as i left through the back door, when a chill ran through my spine and a shadow shaped like a person entered my eyesight. i even checked to see if it was just a person, but there wasn't anyone there. middle of summer, too." they hoped that was sufficiently supernatural scary for the other.

location: wherever u want! for: @chqstarter

"Okay, let's hear it," says Yvonne, leaning in conspiratorially, "what's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you? Not abstractly, like, near-death experience scary, I mean. Preferably supernatural."

[windovvaving]

aileen took to 'there's always room for improvement' mentalities like a sponge. everything she ever did, she had to get better and better. "awesome awesome, i look forward to hearing what you think afterwards." feedback was crucial for her job. if club-goers didn't like their sets, they'd be out of a job. "they're a newer band, not surprised you haven't heard of them. since my set is over, i'm done for the night, someone else is finishing out the night. so, yeah, i'm down to get a drink with you."

addison’s smile grew wider at the others words. it was nice to come across someone with a similar mindset to get. addison herself was always trying to improve, always trying to step out of her comfort zone. What was life without a little risk ? “I like your way of thinking. and if the next one is guaranteed to top tonight, then I’ll have to make sure I come to that, too.” making a mental list of the name, addison nodded. "i've never heard of them before, but i always like discovering new music. so, are you resigned to here for the whole night, or are you able to get a drink before the night is over ? "

[windovvaving]

"mhm, since it's neutral swapping any decorations gets easier as it doesn't clash." all of this made a vision for the room come together. "thanks for the help!" they gushed.

"black would probably make the room feel small, yeah." gus agrees, nodding. "sure, beige could work. i feel like you could do a lot decor wise with beige."

[windovvaving]

"actually, yeah. i can." montego swiped his card, starting the game on his own lane. the first ball landed in the middle rung. not what he had been negging her over, but close-ish.

Sherri did her best not to glare at someone over negging on an arcade game, and yet. "Oh, like you can do any better?"