crashlewis

[crashlewis]

for: @renfarber​

where: coney island beach

“Hey little dude,” Crash greets excitedly, distracted by Max the second he saw him in line with his mother for face painting. Without a doubt, he was the cutest little resident in their shared building and the pair of them were his favorite neighbours. 

“They really pulled out all the stops this year,” He observes, standing up straight so he can talk to Ren now, hovering within earshot but not close enough that there would be huffs from behind her about any perceived queue jumping. “You getting your face done too?” 

[crashlewis]

[crashlewis]

+ LEOTA ELMS.

At the most, she’s used to the same one hundred names and faces telling her their opinions of each cast. What she could do better, what happened when she popped a ‘p’ too close to microphone. The very concept of someone listening just to hear what she has to say is… not his problem. Nope. She isn’t about to get sappy with a former interviewee.

“Oh… no, really?” she grimaces to mask a budding amused smile, bringing both hands to her neck as she slinks into her chair. “Shit. I forgot Mr. Worldwide has that effect on the older crowds, so thank you for reminding me to put a content warning. ‘Song may compell anyone over the age of forty to blast bangers during Sunday dinner clean-up.’”

Yet he says he’s brought something, and immediately Leota perks up with interest. “I don’t really do Youtube, um, broadcasts or anything so no one sees my face while I do this stuff, but I can certainly describe it in a follow-up. What did you bring?”

Crash lets the topic of his mother’s almost concerning devotion to Pitbull fall by the wayside, too excited to show her his hilarious find -- least he thought so -- which required him to rifle through the beat up backpack he had brought with him. It was the same faded black Nike branded one that had been kicking around with him since high school, which was fitting given what he pulled out of the main compartment of it. 

The yearbook was slightly torn at the corners where lack of care for it had taken effect, the logo on it belonged to the school they had both attended but the year was off for his class. It was after his time there, which was why he was so amused by what he had found in it while he had been helping his mother sort through the gathering clutter in the attic space back home. 

He flips through it until he finds the page that contains both Leota and his brother Crash’s pictures just a few rows apart thanks to the alphabetical closeness of their surnames. Turning the yearbook towards her, he places it in front of her on the desk, studying her expression then. 

“Notice anything familiar?” 

[crashlewis]

+ ELENA REY.

elena smiled, her right shoulder raising in a slight shrug, “i’ve had a few unpleasant run-ins with people i’ve slept with in the past, i find it easier to have a drink or two before i see which way the conversations goes.” she lifts a second shot glass, having ordered two, and instead of tipping it back she places it in front of him, “care to join me? or would you prefer to sip on that beer you’ve got there? i think my way is a bit more appealing - fun, if you will.”

“I’m hoping to be on the more pleasant end of that spectrum,” Crash states, though intention wasn’t enough to make that a reality. Nonetheless, he considered himself a good candidate as far as post one night stand run-ins went, he hoped he was good at banishing out any potential awkwardness. 

“What’s wrong with a beer?” He asks, faux offended on behalf of his bottle of Corona, though he’s interested to know what it was she was knocking back. “I think I can let loose and give your way a try. What are you drinking?” 

[crashlewis]

+ LEOTA ELMS.

“Exactly like that gif of Emma Roberts.” Shuffling some unfinished notes into a pile, Leota drops an elbow on top of the mini-mountain to prop her chin up on her fist.

“Wow, she listened? That may be the first time a parent actually enjoyed my news cast. Not that I give radical opinions or anything, but I figured balancing the story out with Fireball by Pitbull would rustle some feathers.” Her nose scrunches. “I should be thanking you. For your… story or service or whatever. And you’re a pretty decent storyteller.”

“Did she listen?” He asks rhetorically, a deliberate exhale following. Crash was just lucky she didn’t host a listening party, which had been a thin veiled threat that was thrown around. As much as he shrugged it off as silliness, it was nice to see an aspect of his job inspire something other than fear and anxiety in her.

That had been mostly Leota’s doing, she had a way of framing it that was less about the bad way it could have ended but instead about the good way it had.

He can’t help but laugh again at her song choice, just as he had the first time he heard it. “That was a dickish enough a choice that the pendulum swung from inappropriate to wicked funny so, all good. I think you might have put her onto Pitbull though, which is kind of a grand evil in itself.” The foundations of his parents marriage being shaken by the prospect of his mom now being Mrs. Worldwide were batted away as he wished to do with her switch back to his part in the rescue. Telling it once was to get the facts out there, beyond that felt self-indulgent in a way that Crash wasn’t.

“You’re about the first person to ever think that. I can snooze a room pretty quick with just an anecdote. Which is why I’m not even going try two for two here, but I did bring something to show you that I think is pretty cool.”

[crashlewis]

+ LUX BEAUMONT.

The massive youthful grin refuses to falter, her eyes brightening.  "Ah-huh. It totally is you!“ It was even more amusing that he was attempting to deny the claim. Lux had seen the TicTok about a dozen times; she’d be able to pick him out of a line-up, no problem. "You’re the Hot Fireman!” Her voice is loud and filled with wonder. “This is so dope. I almost ran over the Hot Fireman; what a day.” “Aye, did you ever end up going out with that chick?”

Crash’s embarrassment dissipates almost as quickly as it appeared, unable to prevent himself from laughing at how absurd the moniker sounded. Leaving it behind had been his aim but he know knew better that it wasn’t so simple to just sidestep anything that gained traction on the internet. 

“You could have flattened a one time viral sensation, seems like good enough a reason to me to watch where you skate,” He advises, now he had said he he considered himself over it. The other thing, not so much, “No, I didn’t. I’m sure she’s great but it’s a lot of pressure for a first date having hundreds of thousands of comments demanding a wedding.” 

[crashlewis]

x

[crashlewis]

+ SHERRI LOWE.

“Optimism. How sweet.” She let the thought of it sink for a beat. And then— “It’s totally useless.” She motioned towards their sheet. “We’ve barely got anything right here, Crash! We’re so fucked.” Trivia was normally something Sherri considered herself okay at. She didn’t go to college and spent most of high school more focused on theatre than academics, but she also regularly listened to podcasts and sometimes watched Jeopardy. So, she was okay.  She’s been on winning and losing teams before, even had competitive (and disastrous) date nights around it. Tonight’s experience, though? It was definitely not her brightest showing. “I took world geography as a freshman in highschool. I think I got a B in that class. I also did a production of Fiddler on the Roof in 2015.” She knew the production had nothing to do with geography — hence why she mentioned it for her own experience with the topic. So fucked.  “How well do you normally do on these nights here again?”

Crash was more mentally taxed by trying to figure out the link between world Geography and Fiddler on the Roof, coming up short with being able to follow any invisible thread between the two. When it came to knowledge of anything theatre related, he brought zero to the table. If only that had been the trivia theme of the night -- they would have cleared up. 

“A B’s pretty good, we can work with a B.” He tapped the pen at the edge of the answer sheet, a tap on the mic indicating that it was time to listen up. Falling silent, he leans forward a little as the question is read, ‘Where would you find the "Spanish Steps"?'

"It can’t be Spain, right? That’s too obvious.” Then again, now he’s wondering whether it was so obvious that it was a deliberate red herring. 

[crashlewis]

+ LYDIA RIVERA.

open to: All!! It’s Lydia’s birthday so feel free to assume connections, or maybe your character came with another and they’re just being polite and saying hello, or anything else! Let your mind run free!! @exclusivestarters​ location: Archer Hotel Rooftop, 7-8pm

It’s not like she expected people to actually show up. 

The last time she’d even attempted something like this only one person showed and it was by accident, and they stayed out of pity. So when people actually came, bringing guests and other friends, her heart swelled. Names were laid out with the cake shooters for when it was time for cake, snacks were filled courtesy of one of the dads, people were getting drinks or bringing their own. Really, the only work she had to do was set up the decorations, and bring a few supplies. She’d done a couple snack and drinks runs in the last hour, making sure bowls and cups remained filled, but now the party had hit a good stride. There was laughter amongst the auto playlist of emo and pop punk music, some were singing along to classics, others either dancing or jumping around. Some of the kids were also having fun, their parents laughing as they wiggled and jumped and clapped.

She sat off to the side, perched up on the ledge, red cup in one hand, other arm crossed over herself as she watched. The birthday girl having gone speechless for once in her life as she observed all the happy faces, rows of eyeliner and tight jeans, vans and converse. Her own hair temporarily dyed an ombre of black and electric blue, done up in space buns, long legs obscured by fishnets, it was definitely surprising to see so many dressed similarly. Just another tick in the box of things that would bring her to tears once she was drunk enough. Though, she wanted to control herself for now, her make up had taken a hot minute to accomplish, and she wanted as many people to see the work of art as possible.

Dark eyes scan over once more, coming to her now approaching company and smiling brightly. “Hi there! I’m so glad you came!” She laughed, hopping down from her spot and meeting the person halfway to envelope them in a hug. 

“Hey!” Crash greets excitedly, still taking in the emo extravaganza that was going on around him. While he would claim if asked it had never been his type of music and he most definitely didn’t have an emo phase, the thrilled look on his face gave away that that might not have been the absolute truth. “Wouldn’t miss it.” 

Going all in on it, he wraps his arms around the birthday girl in a bear hug, never one to half-ass these sorts of things. It lasts for a few seconds before he lets her go, his arm remaining draped around her shoulders as he takes another sweeping look around the bustling venue. It was nice to see so many people gathered to celebrate someone, and he couldn’t think of anyone who deserved celebrating more. 

“This is so dope, you really commit to a theme, huh? Right down to the music,” He pauses for a second to listen, the unmistakeable sound of Panic! At the Disco playing loudly to everyone’s enjoyment. “I like the blue you got going on inn the hair too, makes me wish I had of done something drastic and temporary with mine for the night. I think I could rock some MODSUN green if I really committed to it.” 

[crashlewis]

What was your biggest "i'm a hero" moment?

"It’s hard to quantify biggest but the first instance was definitely the first time someone shook my hand and thanked me for saving their mom's life. That really made me think about the bigger picture to things. In the moment when you’re running into a fire, you’re just thinking about the people in it that you’re trying to get out. You can’t think about their people too, because it’s never just one person that’s lost when a rescue goes wrong. Everyone’s something to someone, and on the day, to me that was one woman that I got out but it was after when I met her family that I realised she was the beating heart of that family. A husband that still had a wife, four kids that still had a mother, nine grandchildren that still had a grandmother. All these lives and all that love that links back to one person and I’m the one being thanked just for doing my job. Moments like that are why I always say the privilege of doing this job outweighs the dangers of it for me. It’s a big part of why I love what I do.” 

[crashlewis]

do you have any traumas that still deeply affect you

"My grandmother's death still weighs on me often. Most of the time, if I’m honest about it. I don't talk about it or her much these days because the only thing that's worse than grief is being able to hear someone wish they could say you have to move on in between half-assed condolences. No one's ever been able to tell me how to move on though, especially when she was the most important person in my life for the first 20 years of it. I know I should have been more ready for it because she was sick for a long time, but that kind made me less ready for it, because of the good days. Every now and then in between stretches of not knowing who the hell I was, she’d look at me like I was me and I’d have a little more time with her before she went away again. I know for me, if I ever had that same disease, I’d rather just go and be gone than fade away slowly and have everyone I ever loved be a stranger to me.” 

“Long story short, I just miss her a lot. Every time something good happens to me or something bad happens to me, she’s still the first person I think I want to tell about it and for a second or two that’s real and then I lose her all over again when I remember I can’t.”

[crashlewis]

Describe your best friend in as much detail as possible WITHOUT saying their name

"You know, I don't think I have someone I'd call a best friend. That’s a bummer. Open to applications though. What I can bring to the table is, I can reach pretty anything no matter how high the shelf, my phone’s never on do not disturb and I’m loyal as hell.” 

[crashlewis]

+ LEOTA ELMS.

closed starter: @crashlewis​

where: the podcast studio idr where it is location wise skdfjsf

“You know, I’m usually the one showing up unannounced. It’s always ‘bet you thought you’d seen the last of me.’  But seriously, I never thought I would see you again. Did the newscast profile suck or something?”

“Like that one gif of Emma Roberts?” He’s almost tempted to do the very shoulder motion that he can recall from said gif, but he decides against it and instead seats himself opposite her while hoping he wasn’t interrupting her workflow too much.

“No, it was the opposite actually. So I wanted to come down and say thanks in person, it’s been a while since I’ve seen my mom that stoked about anything.”

[crashlewis]

+ ELENA REY.

who: open @exclusivestarters​

where: anywhere that offers alcoholic beverages (bar/restaurant/etc.) :)

elena stops the other mid-sentence with a wave of her hand. she lifts her shot glass to her lips and quickly downs the clear liquor, allowing to burn as it goes down. she sets the small glass back down and nods for the other to continue, “go on. i’m going to need at least one of those if i’m going to have to listen to this.”

“Damn,” Crash says, his own beer yet to be touched as he had just gotten it from the bar and was on his way back over to his colleagues when he spotted a very familiar face sat by herself and decided to join her. Perhaps that had been a faux pas on his part. Still, when he speaks again his tone is light, “All I said was hey. Is it that bad seeing me again?”

[crashlewis]

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

"I auditioned for a Netflix dating show, made it to the second round too but then I realised I would never live that down down at the station. Not until either me or Netflix stopped existing and I figured that was a stand-off I wouldn't win so I pulled out of it. Could have met the love of my life, or been a gif.”

[crashlewis]

What do they think is the worst thing that can be done to a person?

"It depends on what your scale of reference is. I feel like getting murdered is obviously the worse thing that can be done to someone, but if you’re talking things aren't an actual crime, probably getting cheated on. Happened to me in high school, and it’s kind of odd that I don’t think about that ex-girlfriend very often but I do think about getting cheated on more often than I’d like to admit. It’s just weird, I guess, that someone else’s spur of the moment choice can embed itself in who you are going forward.”

[crashlewis]

What’s your next podcast discussion topic?

“Well, I wound up interviewing this one firefighter about a really nasty fire that occured in Staten Island a couple of weeks ago. He was kind enough to give me some anecdotes about his job and tough work that goes into firefighting in general, which I don’t think many of us think about? The power of comradery with trust in the community and the volunteers that straddle that line can be a super powerful story, in my humble opinion, so I’m happy I got to chat with him about how super down-to-earth and awesome his whole squad is.

And him, obviously, he’s pretty freaking cool -- ironic because I should say hot, or something, because of fire, but that’s harrassment.” @crashlewis